Declining Covid cases, favourable macro data and global cues lead index higher

Indian equity benchmark ended the week higher boosted by declining Covid-19 cases, supportive macro data and favourable global cues. 

The Nifty started off the week on a strong note on Monday, as sentiments remained upbeat with a decline in Covid-19 cases (lowest in three months). The index continued its winning run on Tuesday after the government launched its free vaccination drive to all citizens above 18 years. 

After hitting a fresh record high on Tuesday, the index reversed gains on Wednesday mainly due to profit booking. Moody’s also cut India’s GDP growth forecast to 9.6% in 2021, from 13.9% earlier. 

The index ended Thursday’s volatile session with modest gains. Earlier, Fed Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the central bank will not raise interest rates too quickly amid rising fears of inflation. This led to a rally in US stocks. On Friday, the index closed higher led by a rally in bank stocks due to improved prospects of loan recovery along with a better outlook of credit growth. Nifty closed the week 1.13% higher.

Top gainers and losers

• Nifty Bank Back In Positive Territory After Falling For Two Weeks; Up Over 2%
• PSU Bank, IT & Metal top gainers in the week
• Maruti, Tata Steel, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv among the top Nifty gainers in the week
• Reliance, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, HUL, Nestle among the top Nifty losers in the week

Here is a quick recap of the market moving developments:

• IPO euphoria continues: India Pesticides IPO which opened on Wednesday garnered strong interest from retail, institutional and non-institutional investors and got subscribed by 29 times at the end of Day 3. Shyam Metalics IPO, which was subscribed by a whopping 121 times, listed at a 24% premium on Thursday. 
• RIL AGM: Reliance Industries concluded its 44th AGM on Thursday. Key highlights from RIL’s AGM included Rs 75,000 crore investments in new energy (over the next three years), strategic partnership with Saudi Aramco expected to be formalized in the current year, 3 times growth target in retail business over 3-5 years, and launch of an affordable 4G smartphone in September.  RIL shares ended the week 5% lower, as investors were concerned that the deal with Aramco has not yet been finalized. Further, there were concerns that the company is redeploying capital into the Energy business, rather than focusing on Retail and Jio. 
• Infosys AGM: Infosys held its 40th Annual General Meeting on June 19th, Saturday. The company aims to achieve revenue growth of 12-14% in the Apr- Mar 22 period. The company has also guided for a margin of 22-24%. The shares closed 5% higher in the week, buoyed by the share buyback announcement.

Check out our other analysis on important market developments!

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• Highlights from Infosys AGM: Infosys held its 40th Annual General Meeting on June 19th, Saturday. We have prepared a short update of the announcements, and the outlook going forward. Read here
• Infosys buyback: India's second-largest IT company received a buyback approval from the board on April 14, 2021, and shareholders' nod on June 19, 2021, at the company's 40th AGM. The buyback is worth Rs 9,200 crore with a maximum price of Rs 1,750 per share. Read more