>> Investors seek safety in IT and pharma
>> Indian debt, rupee may draw FIIs in 2021
>> Bitcoin rally fuels hiring spree in crypto industry
AND
>> Will Majesco trade in low double digits today?
And there is more. But first, a quick glance at the state of the markets…
>> Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 9.55 points lower at 7:40 am (IST), signalling indecisiveness on Dalal Street.
ELSEWHERE
>> Asian equities reversed gains after President Donald Trump said he is asking Congress to amend the pandemic aid legislation. Japan’s Topix index was flat, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 0.6%.
>> Overnight, US stocks ended mostly lower over concerns about the new Covid variation. S&P500 shed 0.21% and Dow fell 0.67%, while Nasdaq gained 0.51%.
IN CURRENCIES
>> The rupee pared most of its initial losses and settled for the day 5 paise lower at 73.84 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a rebound in domestic equities.
>> The safe-haven U.S. dollar was up 0.56% against a basket of currencies, while both the euro and the pound were slightly higher, having clawed back earlier losses. The yen was little changed. The offshore yuan was at 6.5396 per dollar.
IN OIL MARKET
>> Oil prices weakened. WTI crude oil fell 0.8% to $46.64 a barrel.
AND IN BULLION
>> Gold and silver prices edged lower in Indian markets on Tuesday mirroring similar trend in international markets. On MCX, gold futures edged 0.5% lower to Rs 50,180 per 10 gm while silver fell 2% to Rs 67,660 a kg.
All in all, the trade setup on Dalal Street looked indecisive this morning. On Tuesday, Nifty50 formed a Bullish Harami kind of pattern on the daily chart after wild swings, indicating the likely continuation of bullish sentiment. But analysts said it is too early to confirm the trend
LET ME NOW GIVE YOU A HEADS-UP on some of the top news we are tracking at this hour.
… As Indian stock indices rebounded from their worst decline in seven months on Tuesday, jittery investors flocked to the so-called defensive stocks — technology and pharma – a sign that they prefer safety with the near-term outlook turning hazy. Both Sensex and Nifty had fallen 3% on Monday — their steepest decline since May 4
… Indian debt and rupee may lure overseas investors in 2021, just like the nation’s equities with one caveat: the central bank will face more challenges in curbing the local currency’s gains against the greenback. Stocks have already attracted the biggest yearly inflows since 2012, adding to the woes for the RBI that has been buying up the deluge of dollars to curb the rupee’s gains. The resulting glut of cash in the financial system has caused short-term rates to crash, which, combined with high inflation, is dampening debt returns for foreign funds triggering a record outflow from bonds.
… The cryptocurrency craze — and Bitcoin’s more than 200% surge to trade at record $23,000 levels this year — is fuelling a hiring spree in Indian exchanges and startups dealing with virtual currencies. CoinSwitch, Bitex, ZebPay, Unocoin and CoinDCX are among those hiring for roles across technology, product, finance, compliance and design, as they are scaling up team sizes by 40-200%.
…Investors with stronger risk appetite could consider equity mutual fund schemes that bet on smallcap stocks as their underperformance vis-à-vis larger peers, and a low interest rate environment have boosted their prospects. Though many of these stocks have more then doubled from their March lows, fund managers say there is still room for upsides in 2021 and beyond.
…. Will the Majesco stock trade in low double digits today? Stock exchanges have said if the stock price of a company goes below its face value ex-dividend, the face value would be the market price. Shares of Majesco gained 1% on Tuesday to close at Rs 985. The stock price adjusted for dividend on Wednesday will be Rs 985 minus Rs 974, which is Rs 11.45.
… Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” in case of an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, The Wall Street Journal reported late on Monday. The report cited a draft version of the complaint filed by10 US states without redactions in the public version. It accused Google of working with Facebook in a manner that violated antitrust law to boost its already-dominant online advertising business.
LASTLY, AN UPDATE ON ALL THE STOCKS BUZZING THIS MORNING
>> Embassy Office Parks REIT has raised $501 million (about Rs 3,680 crore) through a qualified institutional placement of its units
>> Wipro has won a multi-year technology transformation deal with a revenue potential of over $1 billion from German wholesaler Metro AG, the biggest since Thierry Delaporte took over as chief executive.
>> The government has invited expressions of interest for the sale of its 63.75% shareholding in state-run Shipping Corporation of India, along with management control
>> Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on Tuesday said its Canadian arm along with two partners has filed an application for Reequonus (favipiravir) tablets for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 adult patients.
>> India is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities
That’s it for now. For all the market news through the day, do track ETMarkets.com. Have a great day ahead! Bye-bye
