Domestic barometers clocked strong gains, hitting fresh record highs during the week. The positive sentiment in the Indian market was likely influenced by the upbeat global market mood, fueled by expectations of interest rate cuts by major central banks. This global optimism provided a supportive backdrop for the domestic market. The domestic equity market edged higher in three out of five trading sessions during this week. The Sensex closed above the 82,850 level and the Nifty settled above the 25,350 mark.
In the week ended on Friday, 13 September 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 1,707.01 points or 2.10% to settle at 82,890.94. The Nifty 50 index advanced 504.35 points or 2.03% to settle at 25,356.50. The BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.52% to close at 49,244.05. The BSE Small-Cap index shed 2.72% to end at 57,128.04.
Weekly Index Movement:
Domestic equity indices ended the trading day with modest gains on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 375.61 points or 0.46% to 81,559.54. The Nifty 50 index added 84.25 points or 0.34% to 24,936.40.
Domestic stocks rose modestly on Tuesday. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 361.75 points or 0.44% to 81,921.29. The Nifty 50 index gained 104.70 points or 0.42% to 25,041.10.
The domestic equity market took a significant hit on Wednesday. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 398.13 points or 0.49% to 81,523.16. The Nifty 50 index declined 122.65 points or 0.49% to 24,918.45.
The domestic stock market concluded Thursday's trading session with significant gains. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 1,439.55 points or 1.77% to 82,962.71. The Nifty 50 index zoomed 470.45 points or 1.89% to 25,388.90. Both the indices attained record closing high levels.
The domestic equity indices ended with minor cuts on Friday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 71.77 points or 0.09% to 82,890.94. The Nifty 50 index shed 32.40 points or 0.13% to 25,356.50.
Economy:
The GST Council has slashed the GST rate on cancer drugs from 12% to 5% to ease the financial burden on patients. It also reduced GST on selected snacks and exempted research funds for universities. A GoM has been formed to explore reducing tax rates on life and health insurance, and another to address compensation cess. The council received status reports on rate rationalization, real estate, and online gaming. Car seat GST increased to 28%, while RMPU air conditioners for railways and approved flying training courses were exempted from GST.
Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation rose to 3.65% in August, slightly higher than 3.6% reported in July. The inflation was within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 2-6%.
Separately, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose slightly to 4.83% in July from 4.72% in June.
Nifty Stocks in Spotlight:
Bajaj Finserv rose 1.99%. The company said that its subsidiary, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company's gross direct premium underwritten for August 2024 was at Rs 1,736.23 crore, recording a growth of 3.48% year on year.
Tata Motors dropped 5.39%. Auto major BMW downgrades 2024 outlook over brake issues and weak demand in China. Meanwhile, a foreign broker maintained its Sell rating on Tata Motors with a price target of Rs 825/-
Shriram Finance rallied 3.89%. The company’s board approved and allotted non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis for an issue size of Rs 1,000 crore with green shoe option of Rs 500 crore.
JSW Steel advanced 2.3%. The company said that its consolidated crude steel production for the month of August 2024 was at 23.16 Lakh tonnes, which is higher by 1% as compared with 22.86 lakh tonnes in August 2023.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) slipped 5.39%. The company announced that it has received an approval from its board for the construction of pipeline from Visakh to Raipur at an estimated cost of Rs 2,212 crore.
Global Markets:
The European Central Bank (ECB) implemented a second interest rate cut this year. The key deposit rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.5%, aligning with expectations. While the ECB reduced its 2024 economic growth projection, it remains confident that inflation will broadly align with its 2% target by the end of 2025.
Japan's GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on quarter in the second quarter of 2024, the Cabinet Office said today. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.8%, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months.
Japan’s August producer price index (PPI) data, which came in at a lower-than-anticipated 2.5% year-over-year increase. This marked the slowest PPI growth since May, contrasting with the previous month's 3% rise.
In China, the consumer price index rose by 0.6% year-on-year in August, primarily due to declines in transportation, home goods prices, and rents.
China's exports grew by 8.7% year-on-year in August, while imports increased by 0.5%, according to customs data released on Tuesday. This compares to the previous growth rates of 6.5% for exports and 2% for imports.
South Korea reported that its unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in August, marking the lowest level since the data series began in 1999, according to Statistics Korea.
The US non-farm payrolls increased by only 142,000 in August, falling short of the expected 165,000. This marked the lowest three-month average since mid-2020. Although the unemployment rate decreased to 4.2%, it was the first drop in five months.
The annual core consumer price inflation rate in the United States, excluding volatile items like food and energy, stood at a three-year low of 3.2% in August 2024, matching July's figure.
The US Labor Department reported the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% last month, in line with July. Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy components, rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, exceeding expectations.