Amidst Global Volatility, Domestic Markets Steal The Show
Towards the end of the fortnight, domestic markets recovered with broader markets stealing the show.
The last couple of weeks have been quite interesting for markets as the first US presidential debate was held post which US President Donald Trump and the First Lady were reported to have been infected by corona virus, thus spreading a shock wave in the US markets. Globally, investors remain optimistic about the need for more stimuli by respective governments to boost demand in respective economies. During the fortnight, US indices gained with NASDAQ, DJIA and S&P 500 surging by 5.14 per cent, 3.69 per cent and 3.89 per cent respectively. For the same period of time, other European indices such as FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 rose by 2.39 per cent, 2.28 per cent and 1.67 per cent respectively.
Indices in mainland China, witnessed profit booking during the fortnight while other Asian indices remained subdued as there was no new development between the US and China rift. Shanghai index declined by 2.98 per cent while Hang Seng and Nikkei fell by 0.76 per cent and 0.21 per cent respectively.
Led by global cues and concerns regarding rise in corona virus cases and possible lockdowns worldwide, domestic benchmark indices were under immense pressure. Also, strong profit booking seen in quality stocks added to the reasons for a sharp decline in Sensex and Nifty during the fortnight. However, later, towards the end of the fortnight, domestic markets recovered with broader markets stealing the show. Sensex gained by 2.47 per cent while Nifty rose by 2.25 per cent. The smallcap index slightly outperformed domestic indices, gaining by 2.49 per cent while the mid-cap index rose by 2.40 per cent. As for domestic sectoral indices, the IT index continued its upward spiral, gaining momentum and surging by 5.68 per cent whereas interest in healthcare stocks seemed to be wavering as the index gained by 2.85 per cent. Meanwhile, Bankex and Metal indices rose by 4.66 per cent and 3.92 per cent, respectively, displaying renewed interest by investors in these sectors.
Other indices such as FMCG, Auto and Realty increased by 1.90 per cent, 1.56 per cent and 1.07 per cent, respectively. Power index is the only one amongst sectoral indices to end the fortnight in red, down by 0.68 per cent. In the last couple of weeks, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 9,775.86 crore while DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 6,083.62 crore. Gold price fell by 1.17 per cent in the last fortnight to Rs 52,875 for 10 grams of 24 carat gold. During the last couple of weeks, WTI crude price gained by 2.18 per cent to USD 40.67 for November contracts from USD 39.80. As for Brent crude prices, there is a 1.09 per cent increase to USD 42.65 for December contracts from USD 42.19.
