Here’s the breaking down of the pre-market actions:
STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 47 points, or 0.31 per cent, higher at 14,997 in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Tuesday.
Tech View: Nifty faces hurdle at 15,050
Nifty50 on Monday gyrated in the 300-point range and formed a Hammer-like candle on the daily chart. A Hammer formation usually has a bullish connotation, provided there is a positive follow through action in the next trading session. Analysts said the index needs to close above 15,050 level to change the sentiment.
Asian shares rise in early trade
Asian stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors awaited comments from the US central bank’s meeting later this week. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.04 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.65 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.82 per cent. Korea’s Kospi gained 048 per cent.
US stocks settled at record highs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P500 index again closed at records on Monday, as Wall Street traders continued to bet Covid-19 vaccines and government stimulus would heal the US economy. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to end the day at 32,953.46, while the broad-based S&P500 index gained 0.7 per cent to finish at 3,968.94 — the second day in a row the two indices closed at all-time highs.
Kalyan Jeweller IPO to kick off today
The initial public offering (IPO) of Kalyan Jewellers India is scheduled to open for public bidding on Tuesday. At Rs 87 per share, the stock is available at 0.9 times FY20 market cap/sales and 63 times FY20 EPS. In comparison, at the current price, Titan is valued at 186.74 time earnings. Despite being relatively cheaper, investors do not seem that enthusiastic about the issue.
Craftsman IPO subscribed 55% on Day 1, Laxmi 2.28x
Craftsman Automation IPO received 55 per cent subscription on the first day of bidding on Monday. The Rs 824-crore offer received bids for 21,31,410 shares against 38,69,714 shares on offer, as per data available with the NSE. The issue by Laxmi Organic, on the other hand, was subscribed 2.28 times. The initial public offer (IPO) received bids for 7,42,26,635 shares against 3,25,58,138 shares on offer, according to data available with the NSE.
Anupam Rasayan IPO subscribed 3.64x on Day 2
The initial public offer of speciality chemicals company Anupam Rasayan India was subscribed 3.64 times on the second day of subscription on Monday. The Rs 760-crore issue received bids for 3,53,30,067 shares against 97,01,809 shares on offer, as per NSE data.
FPIs sell Rs 1,101 crore worth stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,101.35 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 749.71 crore, data suggests.
FIIs cut bullish bets on Nifty, Bank Nifty
FIIs cut their cumulative bullish bets on index futures — Bank Nifty and Nifty — by 5,191 contracts from Friday to 16,785 contracts on March 15. This could signal more pain for the indices in the forthcoming sessions as bounces could be sold into. The cutting of bullish bets was accompanied by their selling a provisional ₹1,101 crore of shares in the cash market. Of the two indices, analysts expect the Bank Nifty to underperform the Nifty.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee spurted by 33 paise to close at a more than two-week high of 72.46 against the US dollar on Monday, continuing its gaining streak for the fourth session in a row on the back of forex inflows.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield fell 0.50 per cent to 6.20 after trading in 6.20-6.24 range.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- Australia RBA Meeting Minutes (06:00 am)
- Australia House Price Index YoY Q4 (06:00 am)
- Japan BoJ Gov Kuroda Speech (09:35 am)
- Japan Industrial Production MoM Final Jan (09:35 am)
- US Retail Sales Ex-Autos MoM Feb (06:00 pm)
- US Export/Import Prices YoY Feb (06:00 pm)
- US Industrial Production YoY Feb (06:45 pm)
- US NAHB Housing Market Index Mar (07:30 pm)
MACROS
Bank NPA down by Rs 1 lakh cr… Non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks fell by over Rs 1 lakh crore during the first nine months of the current fiscal to Rs 5,77,137 crore from Rs 6,78,317 crore. Responding to a Parliament query, the government said the reduction was due to its strategy of “recognition, resolution, recapitalisation and reforms”. The government said that its policy of transparent recognition of NPAs resulted in bad loans rising to a high of Rs 8,95,601 crore in FY18 from Rs 2,79,016 crore in FY15.
Banks want Covid provisions extended… Lenders have approached RBI to seek the extension of Covid-related provisions into the new fiscal year, said three bankers aware of the matter. The banks argue that they are still awaiting clarity from the Supreme Court on asset classification of Covid-affected companies, the people said. The RBI had told the banks that all Covid provisions have to be absorbed against future slippages by March 31. Banks have told the regulator that reversal of these provisions in March would lead to anomalies in earnings in the June and September quarters.
RBI rules may hold up SPACs… Startup promoters’ new favourite way to list in Nasdaq has come up against RBI’s old rule limiting how much money Indians can remit abroad. Many unicorn promoters in India are looking at SPACs for a Nasdaq listing. But since the deal will involve allotment of a foreign company’s shares to the startup’s promoters, RBI’s $250,000 limit on outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme may become a hindrance. SPACs are listed entities set up exclusively to acquire private companies. Post acquisition, the private company, now part of SPAC, goes public, bypassing the more demanding IPO route to listing.
AT1 bonds take a knock… Perpetual bonds got pummelled on Monday, stretching for their investors a nerve-jangling ride that began last week after a regulatory fiat on valuing these debt instruments. On a day India’s producer price index surged unexpectedly and the shadow of rising US bond yields loomed large on traditional stores of value across emerging markets, perpetual bonds would have escaped the draining rollercoaster had Sebi, acting upon a centre’s ‘request’ last week, come up with a set of revised rules on valuing such debt. But Sebi’s silence had a loud impact: Yields on this variety of bonds sold by SBI and Bank of Baroda surged up to 103 basis points in secondary market trades, marking the sharpest rise in perpetual yields since the new rule stoked concerns of valuation losses for mutual funds, the biggest investors in these quasi-debt securities.
Govt, RBI share views on crypto… The government and RBI have a similar stand on cryptocurrency, whose fate in the country will be decided by the bill proposed to be tabled during the current session of Parliament. TOI reported that both the agencies responsible for the overall functioning of the economy and the financial system are in favour of using the technology for the digital payment space, but are worried over its impact on the broader economy, including use of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange and its possible misuse for terror finance and money laundering.
Exports grow for third month… India’s exports grew for the third straight month in February with total outbound shipments rising 0.65% last month, but slower than the 6.16% growth seen in January. Gold imports surged almost 124% on-year, leading to a 7% rise in overall imports and widening the country’s trade deficit to $12.62 billion from $10.16 billion in the year ago period, provisional data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday showed. India’s outbound shipments were $27.93 billion last month while imports were $40.54 billion.
MF folios grow in Feb… New folios for equity mutual funds continued to increase in February, helped by sustained momentum in the large-cap, large & midcap, and midcap fund categories. This was despite a contraction in the net inflow in equity funds for the past eight months, according to the data from AMFI. Equity funds added 3.4 lakh folios in February compared with the one-year average of 2.6 lakh. The number has risen for three consecutive months taking the total tally to 6.5 crore, which is nearly 67% of the total mutual fund folio count.
Citibank arm sells NSE stake… A Mauritius arm of Citibank is selling over 81 lakh shares of the unlisted National Stock Exchange (NSE) at a floor price of Rs 1,475-per-share, aggregating to nearly Rs 1,200 crore. At this price, India’s largest exchange is valued at about Rs 73,000 crore (around $10 billion). According to the deal’s term sheet, the bids are being invited from institutional buyers till March 19. The deal is set to close by May 31.
