Equity Markets ends with modest losses; Sensex looses 0.51% & Nifty 50 closes at 15,767

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with modest losses on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Profit booking was seen ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, due later in the day. The sentiments were also hit due to a rally in crude oil price, which was hovering above $75 per barrel.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 271.07 points or 0.51 per cent to close at 52,501.98. The Nifty 50 index lost 101.70 points or 0.64 per cent to settle at 15,767.55. The Nifty Bank index fell 244.25 points or 0.69 per cent to 35,003.50.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index slipped 0.95 per cent while the BSE SmallCap index dipped 0.68 per cent.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,436 shares rose and 1,797 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at NSE, 9 shares rose and 41 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer (up 2.11 per cent), Nestle India (up 1.51 per cent), ONGC (up 1.08 per cent), NTPC (up 1.02 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (up 0.61 per cent). The top five losers were Adani Ports (down 7.86 per cent), Tata Steel (down 2.92 per cent), Hindalco (down 2.83 per cent), JSW Steel (down 2.52 per cent) and PowerGrid (down 2.16 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 176,642,863 with 3,822,685 global deaths. India reported 865,432 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 379573 deaths, data showed.

India's Exports

India's overall exports including merchandise and services are estimated to be USD 98.29 billion in April-May of this year. The overall exports exhibited a positive growth of nearly 57 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said that overall imports are estimated to be USD 104.14 billion in April-May 2021. It said, overall imports exhibited a growth of 77.82 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.

The commodities which have recorded positive growth in exports are cereals, petroleum products, handicrafts items, gems and jewellery, leather products, meat, dairy and poultry products among others.

Japan's Exports

Japan's exports rose at the fastest pace since 1980 in May. Ministry of Finance data on Wednesday showed exports grew 49.6 per cent year-on-year in May 2021, led by US-bound car shipments. On the data front, the final demand index for producer prices advanced 6.6 per cent for the 12 months ended in May 2021. On a monthly basis, the producer price index for final demand rose 0.8 per cent. May 2021's retail sales data fell 1.3 per cent.