Informist, Wednesday, Dec 7, 2022
By Apoorva Choubey
MUMBAI – India’s frontline equity indices ended at their lowest level in eight sessions as the Reserve Bank of India raised its inflation forecast for Oct-Mar, stoking concern that interest rates may remain high for a longer-than-expected period, while a reduction in the central bank’s growth projections for the domestic economy also weighed on the sentiment.
“Overall, the policy stance was a bit hawkish,” said brokerage Nuvama Institutional Equities in a report. It expects one more repo rate hike in the current tightening cycle.
The Nifty 50 closed at 18560.50 points, down 82.25 points or 0.4% from the previous close. The 30-stock Sensex ended 215.68 points or 0.3% lower at 62410.68.
Today, the Indian central bank raised repo rate by 35 basis points to 6.25%, marking the total increase in the key policy rate at 225 bps since May. The RBI will keep focus on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure inflation remains within the target, while supporting growth.
The inflation projections were hiked by 10 basis points each to 6.6% in Oct-Dec and 5.9% in Jan-Mar. The RBI aims to bring back the prints within its 2-6% target band by Jan-Mar but expects CPI inflation to be above its 4% target over the next 12 months.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also cautioned market participants that the surplus liquidity should not be taken for granted and the overall tone of the statement can be considered slightly hawkish in nature, said Ajit Banerjee, chief investment officer at Shriram Life Insurance Co.
Dragging equities lower was also the fact that the central bank cut its GDP growth estimates for the current financial year to 6.8% from earlier 7.0%.
Suman Bannerjee, the chief investment officer at Hedonova, finds this growth target concerning as it signals that exports are lower in the backdrop of a weak currency.
Brokerage Emkay Global Financial Services has also warned that persisting global uncertainties might require frequent assessments of macroeconomic situation and monetary policy in coming months as far as terminal rates are concerned.
The overall breadth in the equity market was negative, with small- and mid-cap stocks falling more than blue-chips.
However, losses in equities were restricted as most market participants expect the central bank to pause rate hikes soon.
Moderating global inflation, intensifying global downturn and its spillovers to domestic economy will likely soften the US Federal Reserve’s stance in coming months which should help RBI also hold rates, said Nuvama Institutional.
MOVERS
The fear of interest rates remaining elevated in India prompted concern that demand for home loans could be hit marginally, which pulled real-estate stocks lower. The Nifty Realty index crashed 1.2% to be among the worst sectoral performers today.
Among other rate-sensitive sectors, automobiles also saw losses on similar concern but fast moving consumer goods companies rose because the RBI sounded optimistic about the rural economy.
Public-sector banks fared well after the central bank extended the dispensation of the enhanced limit of 23% under the held-to-maturity investment category Mar 31, 2024, for statutory liquidity ratio-eligible government securities.
Sobha Ltd plummeted 5% as the Enforcement Directorate attached some assets of the company worth 2.01 bln rupees in Kerala under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Siemens rose 5% as the company emerged as the lowest bidder for Indian Railways’ 9,000-horsepower electric locomotive plant in Gujarat.
* Among Nifty 50 stocks, 9 rose, 40 fell and 1 was unchanged
* Among Sensex stocks, 8 rose, 21 fell and 1 was unchanged
* On the BSE, 1,524 stocks rose, 1,976 fell, and 141 were unchanged
* On the NSE, 864 stocks rose, 1,353 fell, and 435 were unchanged
* Nifty FMCG: Up 1%; Nifty PSU Bank: Up 0.3%; Nifty Media: Down 1.5%
BSE National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 62410.68, down 215.68 pts (0.3%) Nifty 50: 18560.50, down 82.25 pts (0.4%)
S&P BSE Sensitive Index Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 63583.07 (Dec 1, 2022) : Lifetime High: 18887.60 (Dec 1, 2022)
Record Close High: 63284.19 (Dec 1, 2022) : Record Close High: 18812.50 (Dec 1, 2022)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan 3) : 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec 1) : 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun 17) : 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec 1) : 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun 17) : 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct 14) : 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan 29) : 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct 14) : 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan 29) : 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan 29)-
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec 31) : 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar 23) : 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec 31) : 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar 24) : 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec 20) : 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb 19) : 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug 28)) : 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar 23) : 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec 26) : 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec 26)
End
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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