Here’s the breaking down the pre-market actions:
STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 40.5 points, or 0.27 per cent, higher at 15,012.50 in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Wednesday.
Tech View: Nifty support seen at 50-DMA
Nifty declined for the third straight session on Tuesday and formed a bearish candle on the daily chart. During the day, the index broke below its 20-day moving average. Analysts said the market is likely to see sideways action now, but any failure to stage a recovery from here on could potentially send the Nifty tumbling towards the 14,720 level, which is near Nifty’s 50-day simple moving average.
Asian shares mixed in early trade
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s meeting and whether the central bank will maintain near-zero interest rates amid the economy’s post-pandemic recovery. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.34 per cent in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei225 index rose 0.18 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index index declined 0.8 per cent.
US stocks settled lower
The S&P 500 dropped 6.23 points to 3,962.71. Earlier, it had been up 0.3 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 127.51 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 32,825.95. The Nasdaq bucked the trend, benefiting from the rally in technology stocks. The tech-heavy index gained 11.86 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 13,471.57.
Kalyan IPO subscribed 60% on Day 1
The initial public offer of Kalyan Jewellers India was subscribed 60 per cent on the first day of subscription on Tuesday. The issue received bids for 5,72,26,464 shares against 9,57,09,301 shares on offer, according to an update on NSE.
Laxmi IPO subscribed 6x, Craftsman 1.26x on Day 2
The initial public offer of speciality chemicals manufacturer Laxmi Organic Industries Limited was subscribed 6.05 times on the second day of subscription on Tuesday. Auto component maker Craftsman Automation’s initial public offer was subscribed 1.26 times on Tuesday, the second day of subscription.
Anupam Rasayan IPO subscribed 44x
The initial public offer of speciality chemicals company Anupam Rasayan India Limited was subscribed 44.06 times on the last day of bidding on Tuesday. The Rs 760-crore issue received bids for 42,74,80,578 shares against 97,01,809 shares on offer, as per data available with the NSE.
FPIs buy Rs 1,692 crore worth stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,692.31 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,168.59 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee snapped its four-session winning run to close 9 paise lower at 72.55 against the US dollar on Tuesday as muted domestic equities and a strengthening greenback overseas weighed on market sentiment.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield fell 0.34 per cent to 6.18 after trading in 6.17-6.21 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.25 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.50 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- Japan Balance of Trade Feb (05:20 am)
- Japan Exports YoY Feb (05:20 am)
- Japan Imports YoY Feb (05:20 am)
- Euro Area Construction Output YoY Jan (03:30 pm)
- Euro Area Core Inflation Rate YoY Final Feb (03.30 pm)
- US Housing Starts MoM Feb (06:00 pm)
- US FOMC Economic Projections (11.30 pm)
- US Fed Interest Rate Decision (11.30 pm)
MACROS
All eyes on Fed outcome… The two-day Fed meet kick started on Tuesday. Fears about an overheating economy and a recent increase in interest rates have increased scrutiny on the Fed’s two-day meeting, where policymakers are likely to raise economic forecasts and repeat their pledge to remain accommodative for the foreseeable future, Reuters reported.
Withholding tax haunts FIIs… Foreign funds betting on Indian bonds may be in for a tax shock. The withholding tax on FPI funds dealing in debt securities is set to surge to as much as 20% with effect from April 1 from 5%. The fine print of the budget notification has showed that a special law allowing lower taxes to them has been removed. The move will impact at least 4,000 foreign funds that together hold debt paper worth ₹4 lakh crore in the Indian market.
RBI weighs new structure for Srei… Srei, one of the country’s largest non-banking finance companies, is hurtling towards a tricky terrain. RBI is understood to be weighing various options including board-level monitoring of the two companies, Srei Equipment Finance and Srei Infrastructure Finance, through either induction of new directors or appointment of an external agency. The suggestions were given in the course of a recent meeting between the regulator and the firm it engaged to conduct a special audit of the Srei companies.
Lok Sabha panel pulls up Sebi chief… The Lok Sabha committee on petitions on Tuesday pulled up Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi for his failure to appear before the panel on two previous occasions. Tyagi appeared before the committee on Tuesday after being summoned on the issue of returning over Rs 41,400 crore to the investors of PACL. “The committee was upset over the officer’s failure to appear earlier and the message was conveyed to him in strong words that the committee is meant for the issues of special public interests and he will have to make himself available whenever summoned in future,” a source said.
PM’s Principle Adviser steps down… PK Sinha is learnt to have stepped down as Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister on Monday. His name is no longer visible in the list of officers on the Prime Minister’s Office’s website. Sinha didn’t respond to a text message sent by ET. Emails sent to OSD (Communications and IT) at the PMO and the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau did not elicit a response. The exact reasons for Sinha’s departure from South Block couldn’t be ascertained.
Govt says bank stuff will be protected… The government on Tuesday sought to comfort striking bank employees, saying, their interests will be protected and not all state-run lenders will be privatised. At the same time, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attacked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his “spit and run technique”, suggesting that he should do “intense homework” to be ready for a discussion.
Road cleared for setting up DFI… The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the introduction of a bill to set up a development financial institution (DFI) to finance infrastructure projects, including tax benefits, which are proposed for 10 years. The government intends to use the tax benefits to enable the financial institution to raise funds from investors. The government had announced the setting up of the DFI in the Budget and it hopes to introduce the bill during the current session of Parliament.
Non-govt PFs to invest in AIFs… The government has allowed non-government provident funds, superannuation and gratuity funds to invest up to 5% of their investible surplus in AIFs that support infrastructure, MSMEs, venture capital funds and social venture capital funds. This will unlock retirement savings for startups and small enterprises, and raise large sums for them if the Employees’ Provident Fund Organsiation (EPFO) also adopts the new guidelines.
New e-commerce policy soon… The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is likely to release a new draft of the proposed ecommerce policy by this month. The DPIIT is trying to iron out differences among ministries on setting up of an ecommerce regulator and its reach as some ministries have suggested that the Central Consumer Protection Authority under the consumer affairs ministry take up the role
IPO process to be revamped… Sebi has proposed to streamline the IPO process with unified payment interface in application supported by blocked amount (ASBA) and redressal of investor grievances. In 2018, Sebi introduced the use of UPI as an additional payment mechanism with ASBA for retail investors. The regulator said based on the experience gained with the current UPI system, it has identified certain issues based on the feedback from market participants.
