STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals gap-up start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 111 points, or 0.0.77 per cent, higher at 14,468, in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a gap-up start on Monday.
Tech View: Selling at high makes analysts cautious
Nifty50 on Friday plunged over 200 points and closed below its immediate support of 14,500 level. The index formed a long bearish candle on the daily chart and an indecisive candle on the weekly scale, suggesting selling pressure at higher levels. Analysts said the market action of the last two sessions has replicated the pattern of Nifty50 weakness seen on January 15 and January 18. They are cautious, even as they believe a small pullback cannot be ruled out.
Asian stocks gain in early trade
Asian shares gained despite rising Covid cases and doubts over the ability of vaccine makers to supply the promised doses on time soured risk appetite. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed at 718.72. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.43 per cent. Hang Seng added 0.9 per cent. Kospi climbed 1.26 per cent. Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3 per cent.
US stocks ended lower on Friday
Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower as investors grappled with worries over new coronavirus strains while confidence in continued fiscal and monetary stimulus supported equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.6 percent lower at 30,996.98, while the broad-based S&P500 index shed 0.3 per cent to 3,841.47. But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.1 per cent to 13,543.06.
L&T, Kotak Bank to disclose Q3 results
L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Securities, UCO Bank, Can Fin Homes, Mahindra Holidays, Sharda Corpchem, APL Apollo Tubes, and Navin Flourine are some of the companies which will announce their Q3 results today.
Stove Kraft IPO to hit market today
Kitchen appliance manufacturer Stove Kraft is ready to hit the market with its IPO on Monday. The fourth IPO to launch this calendar, Stove Kraft comprises a sale of up to 6,90,700 shares by Stove’s promoter Rajendra Gandhi, up to 59,300 shares by promoter Sunita Rajendra Gandhi, up to 14,92,080 shares by Sequoia Capital India Growth Investment Holdings and up to 6,007,920 shares by SCI Growth Investments II. The issue also comprised a fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 95 crore.
DIIs sell Rs 1,290 crore worth stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 635.69 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1290.35 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee clawed back lost ground towards the fag-end of the session and settled with a marginal 2 paise gain at 72.97 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by easing crude oil prices.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield fell 0.29 per cent to 5.93 after trading in 5.93-5.97 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.18 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.9-3.5 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- Q3 earnings: L&T I Kotak Bank I ICICI Sec I Uco Bank I
- US Chicago Fed National Activity Index Dec (07:00 pm)
- US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index Jan (09:00 pm)
- ECB President Lagarde Speech (09:30 pm)
MACROS
Govt may borrow less in FY22… The central government’s cash balance with RBI is estimated to have risen to about Rs 3 lakh crore, prompting bond investors to speculate that it may borrow less than the upwardly revised forecast for the current financial year. With just about two months to go for the fiscal year to close, the government may not be able to spend much or it may clear pending projects before March-end, which could raise the capital inflow.
Large unlisted firms will need to disclose more… Large unlisted companies may have to adhere to stricter disclosure rules akin to their listed counterparts. The government has tweaked the Companies Act to introduce a rule that requires certain types of unlisted firms to submit their audited financial reports to the ministry of corporate affairs within 30 days of ending of a fiscal period
Q3 nos signal strong rebound… Corporate India appears to have been resurgent in the third quarter, pointing toward a healthy turnaround in the broader economy after being laid low by the pandemic. Aggregate results for the October-December period so far show a strong rebound in revenue, profit and operating margin after excluding RIL, which reported lower revenue year-on-year. Revenue of the sample of 238 companies rose 10.4% in the period, the highest year-on-year growth in six quarters.
CARE to challenge NCLT order…Sensing a ‘dangerous precedent’, credit rating agency CARE will challenge the ruling of the NCLT on the freeze on the downgrade of securities issued by Srei Equipment Finance — one of the country’s largest finance companies — which along with parent Srei Infrastructure recently faced a special audit directed by RBI. The rating agency is likely to make Sebi a party to the matter that follows a pre-emptive court move on the rating — leaving agencies, lenders and investors to wonder as to what extent NCLT has the jurisdiction on actions of rating firms.
Desi Alibaba in the works… India may soon have its own version of Alibaba – especially for small businesses and traders – with the government deliberating on ways to promote micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the digital arena. Niti Aayog is working on various mechanisms to encourage small businesses in India to get on to online portals to expand their reach to non-urban areas and outside the country.
Agarwal seeks 27% interest in acquired assets… Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal’s $10 billion fund, being set up in collaboration with London-based Centricus to invest in government-owned companies coming up for divestment, will be structured such that he gets a 27% interest in the acquired entities. The fund will submit expressions of interest, conduct due diligence and bring in expert management teams to run acquired companies.
