Here’s breaking-down the pre-market actions.
STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 32 points, or 0.21 per cent, higher at 15,149.00 in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Wednesday.
Tech View: Nifty may see profit booking
Nifty50 snapped a six-day winning streak on Tuesday and formed a Spinning Top-like indecisive candle on the daily chart. At an intraday low of 15,064 on Tuesday, the index was around an important short-term support of 20-EMA on the hourly scale. Analysts said the 15,060-15,050 range is crucial and any breach of this zone may extend profit booking going ahead.
Asian stocks make cautious gains
Asian stocks edged higher on Wednesday, as upbeat Wall Street earnings and optimism about a global recovery supported sentiment, although concerns about the sustainability of a recent risk rally are likely to cap gains. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index was last up 0.5 per cent and e-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.14 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.31 per cent.
prices extend rally
Oil prices rose again on Wednesday, extending their more than week-long rally after industry data showing a fall in US crude oil stocks added to optimism about an expected rise in global fuel demand. Brent crude was up by 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $61.20 after rising nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday, when it touched a 13-month high. US crude added 2 cents to $58.28.
US stocks settled mixed
US indices capped a listless day of trading with an uneven finish that snapped a six-day winning streak for the S&P500 index even as the Nasdaq set another all-time high. The S&P500 index slipped 4.36 points to 3,911.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index dropped 9.93 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 31,375.83. The Nasdaq rose 20.06 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 14,007.70, its fourth straight gain.
Q3 earnings today
Titan, Eicher Motors, Hindalco & GAIL: Titan Company, Eicher Motors, Hindalco Industries, GAIL, Aurobindo Pharma, IGL, Page Industries, Bata India and Gujarat State Petronet are among companies which will announce their December quarter results on Wednesday.
NSE to add 6 stocks to F&O segment
NSE will add six stocks to the F&O segment from the March series, the exchange said in a notification on Tuesday. These include Alembic Pharmaceuticals, City Union Bank, Granules India, Gujarat Gas, L&T Technology Services and Mphasis.
DIIs sell Rs 1,756 crore worth stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,300.65 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,756.24 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee gained 10 paise to settle at 72.87 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows and weak American currency.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield rose 0.52 per cent to 6.07 after trading in 6.07-6.09 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.23 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.9-3.55 per cent.
EVENTS/DATA TO WATCH
- Q3 Earnings: ABB I SpiceJet I Titan I Max India I Aurobindo Pharma I BoI I Eicher Motors I GAIL I Hindalco I Bata India I
- China Inflation Rate YoY Jan (07:00 am)
- China PPI YoY Jan (07:00 am)
- US MBA Mortgage Applications 05/Feb (05:30 pm)
- ECB President Lagarde Speech (06:30 pm)
- US Inflation Rate YoY Jan (07:00 pm)
- BoE Gov Bailey Speech (10:30 pm)
- Fed Chair Powell Speech (12:30 am)
MACROS
Crypto industry worried over India move… Tesla’s big bet on Bitcoin has helped propel it to record levels. But in India, those with exposure to cryptocurrencies traded overseas are not joining the celebration. Reason: they are uncertain about the fate of their investments as the Indian government moves toward banning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Many of these investors, worried that they might be on the wrong side of law, are rushing to seek legal opinion on the road ahead.
Retail exits from equity MFs continue… Retail investors continued to book profits in equity mutual funds making use of every rise in share prices. Investors sold equity mutual funds for the seventh consecutive month, selling stocks worth Rs 9,253 crore in January, slightly less than December’s Rs 10,147 crore. With this, investors have pulled out Rs 42,256 crore over the last seven months. Investors, however, have continued with their SIPs with collections in January at Rs 8,023 crore compared with Rs 8,418 crore in the previous month. Debt funds, too, saw outflows of Rs 33,409 crore in January, primarily led by liquid funds where Rs 45,000 crore moved out.
Auto retail sales drop in Jan… Automobile retail sales declined in January, with volume in all vehicle categories in the red except tractors, which continued their unprecedented growth run, latest registration data show. Registration of vehicles with regional transport offices, which are proxy for retail sales, was down 10% in January compared with a year earlier. Passenger vehicle, or car and utility vehicle registrations, declined 4.5%, largely due to a production shortfall as automakers struggled with a global semiconductor shortage.
Urban poor still not buying much… Urban poor consumers, impacted by job losses and low wages, are dragging down the growth of the overall FMCG market, which has revived mainly on higher demand in villages. Companies including HUL, Marico, Britannia and Parle said reverse migration along with government initiatives boosted rural income but urban centres’ growth is still either below pre-Covid level or significantly below hinterlands.
Top telcos to bid for 5G waves… Telecom market leader Reliance Jio, second-ranked Bharti Airtel and financially stressed Vodafone Idea (Vi) have filed applications for participation in the upcoming 4G spectrum auctions, due to start on March 1. The auction for over 2300 MHz of airwaves — valued at ₹3.92 lakh crore at base price — though is likely to see limited bidding intensity for spectrum worth less than Rs 48,000 crore, with Jio and Airtel expected to be the main players.
Voda gets extra time for debt deal… The deadline for exclusive talks between Vodafone Idea and a foreign lenders’ consortium led by Oak Hill Advisors for finalising the terms of a $2 billion credit line for the telco has been extended to February 28 from January 31. “The lock-in for exclusive talks has been extended, as the lenders are keen to close the deal but also want some safeguards and business milestones in place to protect their investments, especially as Vi’s financial struggles seem far from over and it continues to lose revenue and users,” ET quoted a person close to the consortium as saying.
IT honchos cash out Esops… Senior executives at IT firms have encashed shares, fetching them handsome returns over the last two months amid a booming stock market. Executives at L&T Infotech, L&T Technology Services, Wipro, Infosys, Persistent Systems, Mphasis, TCS and HCL Tech are among those that have disposed of some portion of their employee stock ownership plans as share prices of all these companies hit new highs in January.
