Missed the buzz at Dalal Street this week? Here’s how Sensex and Nifty fared

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Domestic equity market benchmarks logged strong gains during the week. Both Sensex and Nifty ended at record closing highs. The Sensex closed above 56,000 mark. The Nifty index settled above 16,700 level. Broader markets outperformed. In the week ended August 27, Sensex surged 795.40 points or 1.44% to settle at 56,124.72 while Nifty50 jumped 254.70 points or 1.55% to settle at 16,705.20. The BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 575.52 or 2.54% to settle at 23,255.39. The BSE Small-Cap index rallied 526.04 points or 2.04% to settle at 26,284.15.

“Tracking global events, domestic indices witnessed a volatile week. Renewed tension between China and US, fear of rise in Delta variant cases and the Fed Reserve’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday led to the market trading cautiously. However, approval of the new Covid vaccine in the US fuelled optimism over its economic recovery. Mid and small cap stocks were in focus this week as value-buying led to a recovery in the sector leading to its outperformance,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

At the close of trade on August 27, the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies advanced to an all-time high of Rs 2,43,73,800.36 crore driven by an upbeat sentiment in equities. In the two days of market rally investors have gained Rs 2,20,292.05 crore. The BSE midcap and small cap indices gained up to 1.04% in the broader market.

Markets this week

The domestic equity benchmarks managed to close with decent gains after a volatile session on Monday, 23 August 2021. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 226.47 points or 0.41% to 55,555.79. The Nifty 50 index gained 45.95 points or 0.28% to 16,496.45.

The key equity indices ended near the day’s high with robust gains on Tuesday, 24 August 2021 tracking positive cues in other Asian stocks. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 403.19 points or 0.73% to 55,958.98. The Nifty 50 index added 128.15 points or 0.78% to 16,624.60.

The benchmark indices sharply pared gains and ended near the flat line on Wednesday, 25 August 2021. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 14.77 points or 0.03% to 55,944.21. The Nifty 50 index added 10.05 points or 0.06% to 16,634.65. The Sensex hit a record high of 56,198.13 in intraday trade.

The domestic equity barometers ended flat with some positive bias on August 26. The trading was volatile on account of monthly derivatives expiry on the NSE. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 4.89 points or 0.01% to 55,949.10. The Nifty 50 index added 2.25 points or 0.01% to 16,636.90.

The domestic equity barometers ended near the day’s high on Friday, 27 August 2021. The Nifty closed above the 16,700 mark. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 175.62 points or 0.31% to 56,124.72. The Nifty 50 index added 68.30 points or 0.41% to 16,705.20. The Nifty hit a record high of 16,722.05 in intraday trade.

Economy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Monetisation Pipeline on August 23. The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) comprises a four-year pipeline of the Central Government’s brownfield infrastructure assets. Besides providing visibility to investors, NMP will also serve as a medium-term roadmap for the Asset Monetisation initiative of the Government. The Union Budget 2021-22 laid a lot of emphasis on Asset Monetisation as a means to raise innovative and alternative financing for infrastructure, and included a number of key announcements.

Giving a presentation, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, infra assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore across rail, road, power sectors to be monetised over four years. The NMP would serve as a roadmap for asset monetisation of various brownfield infrastructure assets across sectors including roads, railways, aviation, power, oil and gas, and warehousing.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country is on the rise, jumping to $2.1 billion in May this year. He also said the government is working on a mission mode to achieve exports target of $400 billion in 2021-22. “India has received the highest ever FDI inflow in 2020-21. It surged by 10% to $81.72 billion and FDI during May 2021 is $12.1 billion, i.e. 203% higher than May 2020,” he said while addressing a meeting of different industry associations on promoting exports.

Global rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday, 26 August 2021 said the second wave of COVID-19 will lead to new problem loans in the retail and SME segments, but a severe asset quality decline is unlikely. The improved profitability, capital and loss buffers of banks will help them absorb anticipated loan losses and maintain credit strength, Moody’s said in a release. “A severe deterioration of banks asset quality is unlikely, despite an expected rise in new loan impairments particularly among individuals and small businesses that were hit hardest by the virus outbreak,” said Alka Anbarasu, a Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer.