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Benchmarks likely to make positive start on Friday

Indian markets ended higher on Thursday as gains were propelled by strength across most sectors, a day after the outcome of the Federal Reserve policy review met Street expectations. Today, markets are likely to make positive start following firm global cues. Some support will come as union Minister Piyush Goyal said the commerce ministry is trying to ease norms for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and make it simpler for units to exit these areas. The ministry is also looking at ways for partial de-recognition of existing SEZs so that areas which have no more demand can be used for industrial or other purposes. Traders may take note of report that Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asked bankers to be more liberal on aspects like exchange rates while serving the exporters segment. He also sought a similar liberal outlook on the issue of penal interest rates and insistence on ratings while granting a loan, saying payments from overseas markets have been impacted because of the pandemic. However, traders may be concerned as India recorded a spike of 31,458 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The country also witnessed 319 deaths, taking the death toll to 446,399. So far, India has recorded 33,593,492 corona cases in total. Delhi reported 48 Covid-19 cases and no fatality. Kerala recorded 19,682 new Covid-19 cases and Maharashtra 3,320 cases. There may be some cautiousness as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said the recovery in employment after the pandemic-induced disruptions has been uneven, with job losses being concentrated among salaried employees and entrepreneurs. Banking stocks will be in focus as RBI data showed Bank deposits grew 11.9 per cent year-on-year during 2020-21 compared to 8.8 per cent in 2019-20 on the back of high growth in current account and savings account (CASA) deposits. The share of CASA deposits increased to 43.7 per cent in March 2021 compared to 41.7 per cent a year ago. There will be some reaction in insurance industry stocks as a senior Irdai member said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has no plans to bring standard products for cyber liability insurance policy as of now. Meanwhile, Sansera Engineering shares are set to make Dalal Street debut on September 24, Friday. The Rs 1,283 crore public issue, which was opened during September 14-16, was subscribed 11.47 times

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as investors brushed off concerns over the Federal Reserve's tapering plans. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday as investors continue to watch developments surrounding China Evergrande Group.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks traded in green throughout the session and ended over one and half percent higher on Thursday, tracking gains in index majors Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC amid a positive trend in global markets. Benchmarks made gap-up start, as sentiments got a boost with the commerce and industry ministry’s statement that foreign direct investment equity inflow into the country more than doubled to $20.42 billion during the April-July period of the current fiscal. Total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow rose to $27.37 billion during the first four months of 2021-22. Domestic sentiments remain buoyed with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the world is witnessing initial signs of recovery from the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. He said the Covid pandemic has provided a new impetus to technology-driven companies such as fintech, edtech and healthtech which are likely to see increased funding activity in the coming years. Benchmarks continued their upward rally in late afternoon session, taking support from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India and the UAE have formally launched negotiations for a free trade agreement and the first round of talks will begin from September 23 with an aim to conclude it by end-December, a move aimed at boosting trade and investments between the countries. Traders also took a note of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that India is committed to an eminently achievable clean energy-based economy, and added that the country will soon have a policy for flex-fuel engines. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched the National Single Window System for businesses and said the portal will usher in freedom from the legacy of running to government offices for approvals and registrations. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 958.03 points or 1.63% to 59,885.36 and the CNX Nifty was up by 276.30 points or 1.57% to 17,822.95.

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