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Benchmark Indian stock indices Nifty and Sensex gained for the fourth week in a row after the Indian government announced a slew of measures to support the telecom and auto industry including auto ancillary and drone industry. These positive developments lifted investor sentiments. For the week ended on September 17, Nifty was up 1.2% to close at 17585.15 and Sensex gained 1.22% to close at 59015.89.
In the Nifty 50, the top gainers on a weekly basis were IndusInd Bank (13.1%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (10.5%), ITC (8.7%), NTPC (8%) and Bharti Airtel (6.1%). The top losers were BPCL (-11.2%), Tata Steel (-4.2%), HUL (-3.2%), UltraTech Cement (-2.9%) and UPL (-2.1%).
Nifty Metal index was the biggest loser for the week and it was down 1.4%.
Company News
Some of the stocks that were buzzing during the week were Zee Entertainment (39.6%), Vodafone Idea (32.7%), YES Bank (21%), IRCTC (17.3%) and Zensar Technologies (16.96%).
Zee shares soared on September 14, as ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Rare Enterprises bought 50 lakh shares in the company and two big investors in the company demanded the ouster of Zee’s MD Punit Goenka. Meanwhile, in its annual general meeting, Punit Goenka said the company has laid out a new plan under ‘ZEE 4.0’ where the company will aim to improve profitability and grow ahead of the industry,
Vodafone Idea shares surged as the company got some breather as the centre announced relief measure for the telecom sector, including a four-year moratorium on regulatory dues. Analysts expects that this announcement is a shot in the arm for the company as it can go ahead with its capital raising plan to fund its capital expenditure.
YES Bank shares rose during the week due to heavy volumes and as the rating agency ICRA affirmed the private lender’s various instruments with a stable outlook. The rating agency said the bank has seen a steady growth in its deposit and improved liquidity position.
IRCTC continued its rally as investors piled up on the stock on hopes that the opening up of the economy will benefit the top line immensely.
Zensar Technology stocks rose as the company recently announced that they have partnered with FRISS, the most widely adopted provider of AI-powered end-to-end fraud prevention and detection solutions for P&C insurers worldwide.
Economy News
A raft of economic data was released during the week. India’s inflation based on Consumer Price Index-based Inflation (CPI) for August 2021 was 5.30%, compared with 5.59% in July 2021, as food prices eased, especially in the case of vegetable prices.
India’s inflation measured by Wholesale Price Index rose to 11.39% in August on a year-on-year basis, due to higher prices of manufactured goods, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It stood at 11.16% in July 2021 and 12.07% in June 2021. During August 2020, WPI inflation was 0.41%. The ministry in a statement said, “The high rate of inflation in August 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of non-food articles, mineral oils; crude petroleum & natural gas; manufactured products like basic metals; food products; textiles; chemicals and chemical products etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year.”
The government also released trade data which showed overall trade deficit increased to $6.37 billion in August 2021, from $ 1.33 billion in August 2020. Overall exports which includes merchandise and services segment jumped to $52.20 billion in August 2020, from $38.96 billion in the same period last year. Overall imports rose to $58.57 billion last month, from $40.29 billion in the corresponding period previous year.
Global Markets
Wall Street closed lower for the week due to mixed signals as investor weighed positive economic data against high valuations and probable monetary policy tightening by the Fed. The United States’ month-on-month core inflation declined to 0.1% in August, from 0.3% in July. Overall inflation fell to 0.3% in August from 0.5% in July, on a monthly basis. Retail sales increased 0.7% in August and core retail sales surged 2.5%. For the week, the S&P 500 dropped 0.58%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.07% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.47%.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.39% and the broader Topix was 0.41% higher as the country was getting close to elect its new prime minister and coronavirus cases subsided.
Chinese stock indices fell as investor sentiments were dampened by the growing debt crisis at property developer China Evergrande Group and concerns over the tightening of gaming regulations in Macau. The CSI 300 index of large-cap stocks fell 3.14%, and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2.41%.