Equity indices closed near flat line; Sensex gains 42 points & Nifty loses 19 points

After fluctuating between gains and losses, the domestic equity indices ended near the flat line on Friday, May 14, 2021. Amid, the slowdown in the vaccination programme due to supply crunch and downgrades in the GDP growth forecasts for FY22 kept investors uncertain about the market direction.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 41.75 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 48,732.55. The Nifty 50 index declined 18.70 points or 0.13 per cent and settled at 14,677.80. The Nifty Bank index fell 282.75 points or 0.87 per cent to 32,169.55.

On a weekly basis, both, the Sensex and the Nifty50 indices slipped around 1 per cent each.

Profit booking was also seen in the broader markets. The S&P BSE MidCap lost 1.14 per cent and SmallCap indices lost 1.18 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index led the loss and fell around 3.76 per cent, followed by the Nifty Realty index which lost 3.19 per cent, Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank indices fell 2.03 per cent, each.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1415 shares rose and 1678 shares fell. On the NSE, Nifty 50 index, 15 shares advanced and 34 shares declined, while one share remains unchanged. The top five gainers on Nifty were Asian Paint (up 8.44 per cent), UPL (up 7.41 per cent), ITC (up 4.82 per cent), Nestle India (up 2.95 per cent) and Larsen & Turbo (up 2.11 per cent). The top five losers were Coal India (down 4.43 per cent), Tata Steel (down 4.16 per cent), Tata Motors (down 4.11 per cent), Hindalco (down 3.95 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (down 2.80 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 16,11,88,177 with 33,44,737 deaths. India reported 37,04,893 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,62,317 deaths while 2,00,79,599 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Indian Economy

India's retail inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed to 4.29 per cent in April from 5.52 per cent in March, mainly due to easing food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. While industrial output as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 22.4 per cent in March 2021 as compared to 16.7 per cent in the year-ago period.

Canadian Economy

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem indicated he will not be in any rush to hike interest rates even if the economy makes up pandemic losses. In a speech, Mr Macklem reiterated the central bank will continue to support the economy until a "complete" recovery takes place but added specifics on what that looks like. He cited employment surpassing pre-pandemic levels by about 200,000 and businesses reinvesting again, as well as a healthy jobs market for groups that have been hit hardest by the pandemic such as young women. The Bank of Canada last month accelerated the timetable for a possible interest-rate increase and pared back its bond purchases.