This week in a nutshell (31st May – 4th June)

Technical talks

NIFTY opened the week on 31^st May at 15,438 and closed on 4^th June at 15,670. It made a weekly gain of 2%. The index is trading at its all-time high level. Indicators like RSI (14) 70 and downward turning MACD suggest a downward correction. The index might take support of its 10DMA of 15,458 before making a strong move on either side.

Weekly highlights

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced a list of 108 items of defence equipment that must be compulsorily procured from indigenous sources. The list includes items that will be banned for import in a staggered manner from December 2021 to December 2025. There is a special focus on weapons/systems which are currently under development/trials (in India). This embargo is expected to benefit Bharat Electronics Ltd, Solar Industries India Ltd, and other PSU which have a presence in the defence sector.
• Automobile companies reported the monthly sales volume for May-21. The lockdowns in states such as Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu (key automotive hubs) forced carmakers to halt production. The impact of lockdowns was visible with companies reporting high double-digit month-on-month (MoM) decline across segments (Source- Business Standard). While a pickup in vaccination is expected to be a positive development for the sector, the semiconductor shortage remains a key issue to meeting the pent-up demand.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of RBI decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent. The stance remains accommodative for as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis. The Committee lowered the GDP projection for FY22 from 10.5% (April-21) to 9.5%. The RBI also announced government securities acquisition programme worth Rs 1.2 tn in second quarter. The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.03% vs 5.99% on Friday.
• The RBI has announced a Rs. 150 bn package for contact intensive sectors like hotels, restaurants, tourism, aviation, and ancillary services. These industries which have been hit hard due to the virus outbreak, have been provided a much-needed liquidity dose.
• Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) continued to be net buyers of Indian equities of Rs 54,618mn, an increase from the previous week’s Rs 20,400mn purchase. Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) continued their selling spree, with a net outflow of Rs 2,442 mn which is lower compared to last week’s selling of Rs 3,240 mn.

Things to watch out for next week

• With the result season almost over, companies have started publishing annual reports. Management commentary on the future outlook and strategy to mitigate the impact of 2^nd wave is something to watch for. Vaccination progress and unlock process across India may be the catalysts for the market movement.