Mumbai, Jul 30 : Stocks: The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by 249 points to close at 28,051.86 and the NSE 50-share Nifty by 97 points to end at at 8,638.50 on fresh buying and hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill inched closer to become a reality. Market sentiment was also boosted after the US Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates at ultra-low level after the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest rates and the government bond buying unchanged after the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting. Strong foreign capital inflows also was the another factor behind rise in Sensex. The Sensex rose 248.62 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 28,051.86 after hitting 11-month high of 28,240.20 during the week. (ALSO READ: India’s business optimism rank falls, GST Bill may help: Report)
The Sensex had last traded at 28,417.59 on August 10, 2015 during the intra-day trade. The NSE 50-share Nifty also rose by 97.30 points or 1.14 per cent to close at 8,638.50 after hitting 15-month high of 8,674.70 during the week. The Nifty had last traded at 8,699.85 on April 17, 2015. The government on Friday listed the much-awaited GST bill for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha’s agenda for the next week.
Meanwhile, the Group of 20 major economies, including India, has vowed to deploy all policy tools to foster confidence and boost global environment for growth, which they said was “challenging” and uncertain after the UK’s decision to exit the world’s largest single market, the EU. Traders said covering-up of short positions on expiry of July series of derivative contracts and participants carrying positions to new series also boosted sentiment.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth whopping Rs 3,993.60 crore during the week as per Sebi’s record including the provisional figure of July 29. Broader market depicted strength. The BSE mid-cap index rose 383.81 points or 3.13 per cent to settle at 12,661.06 and the BSE small-cap index gained 202.64 points or 1.67 per cent to close at 12,309.95. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. (ALSO READ: Sensex edges up as GST bill makes headway)
Among the S&P, BSE sector and industry indices, Consumer Durables rose by 2.52 per cent, followed by Auto 2.15 per cent, Power 1.98 per cent, Teck 1.70 per cent, IT 1.51 per cent, Oil&Gas 1.42 per cent, Bankex 1.41 per cent, PSU 1.21 per cent and FMCG 1.14 per cent. Consumer goods fell 0.46 per cent, followed by Healthcare 0.42 per cent and Metal 0.30 per cent. In the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 stocks rose, while 11 declined during the week.
Car major Maruti was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack and was up by 7.61 pc, followed by Asian Paint 6.64 pc, PowerGrid 5.42 pct, Sun Pharma 5.33 pct, TCS 4.36 pct, Adaniports 3.32 pct, SBIN 2.51 pct, Lupin 2.47 pct, HindUnilever 2.06 pct, Cipla 1.99 pct, M&M 1.74 pct, Wipro 1.59 pct, Axis bank 1.58 pct, HDFC 1.38 pct, HDFC Bank 1.23 pct and ITC 1.16 per cent. However, Dr Reddy dipped by 18.53 pc, Tata Steel 2.89 pct, GAIL 2.54 pct, Bharti Airtel 1.87 pct, HeroMotoco 1.53 pct, ONGC 1.12 pct, Larsen 1.01 pct and Coal India 0.76 pct. The total turnover during the week at BSE and NSE rose to Rs 19,207.06 crore and Rs 1,22,169.73 crore, respectively, as against last weekend’s level of Rs 15,754.27 crore and Rs 96,015.14 crore.
Forex: The rupee recovered moderately by six paise to two-week high at 67.02 against the American currency on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of strong foreign capital inflows coupled with recovery in equity market. A weak dollar in overseas market also boosted the rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and institutional investors (FIIs) pumped in USD 596.64 millions during the first four days of the week as per the SEBI’s record.
The rupee resumed lower at 67.19 per dollar as against the last weekend’s level of 67.08 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 67.43 per dollar on month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners. However, it recovered afterwards to 66.9550 per dollar before closing at two-week high of 67.02 per dollar, showing a gain of six paise or 0.09 per cent on good foreign capital inflows. The rupee had ended at 66.91 per dollar on July 14, 2016.
The domestic currency hovered in a range of 66.9550 and 67.4300 per dollar during the week. Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex recovered by 249 points to close at 28,051.86 and the NSE 50-share Nifty by 97 points to end at 8,638.50 on fresh buying and hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill inched closer to become a reality. (ALSO READ: Bank of India to allot preference shares to government for Rs 1,338 crore)
At the overseas market, the dollar dropped on Friday after data showed that the US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter, while the Japanese yen soared after the Bank of Japan?s stimulus plans underwhelmed investors. The dollar has fallen since the Federal Reserve’s statement from its policy meeting last Wednesday disappointed some investors who had thought the US central bank might signal that a rate increase was possible in September.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, dropped 1.22 per cent to 96.566, the lowest level since July 5. In the forward market, premium for dollars declined further due to sustained receipts from exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in December fell to 165.5-167 paise from preceding weekend’s level of 174-176 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in June also eased to 364.5-366 paise as compared to 371-373 paise, earlier.
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the USD at Rs 67.0340 and the euro at Rs 74.2737 from last Friday’s level of Rs 67.1355 and Rs 74.0303, respectively. In cross-currency trade, the rupee dropped against the pound and settled at 88.31 from 87.90 and also fell against the euro to finish at 74.47 from 73.91 previously. The domestic unit slipped against the Japanese currency and ended at 64.89 per 100 yens from 63.22.
Bullion: Gold prices reversed its one week down-trend following sharp investment offtake and increase in buying interest from stockists and jewellery buyers to hit the psychological Rs 31,000 level attributed mainly due to higher global cues. Despite a subdued start, the yellow metal staged a strong comeback during the week trade. Elsewhere, silver also rebounded sharply to close above the significant Rs 48,000 mark due, its highest in more than two-years, to heavy specula
tive buying coupled with higher industrial demand. (The level has not been seen since February 21, 2014). In worldwide trade, weakness in equities helped the gold to boost its safe-haven appeal. Gold futures settled on Friday with a monthly gain of nearly 3 per cent, after a report on the US economic growth came in weaker than expected, pushing the dollar lower and lifting prices for the precious metal higher to a three-week high. Gold saw further support as many investors believe that the Federal Reserve lacks the confidence to lift rates too abruptly without further signs of strength in the US economy.
At its policy meeting this week, the Federal Reserve stopped short of indicating that a further increase in the US interest rates is on the cards for later this year. Uncertainty over the path of interest rates has held gold in check since it rallied to more than two-year highs in the wake of Britain’s shock vote last month to leave the European Union. For the week, gold futures ended roughly 2.6 per cent higher. Meanwhile, for the week, silver futures saw a 3.3 per cent weekly rise and a 9.3 per cent run-up for the month.