STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals weak start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 14 points, or 0.09 per cent, lower at 14,932 in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a weak start on Friday.
Tech View: Nifty hurdle at 14,900
Nifty50 on Thursday closed almost where it had opened earlier in the day, thus forming an indecisive Doji candle on the daily chart. The index stayed above the key short-term moving averages, but weakness at a key resistance point, 14,900, made analysts believe any upside for the index may be capped for now.
Asian markets mixed in early trade
Asian markets were largely mixed on Friday after technology stocks lifted the S&P500 index to a new record even as investors weighed an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.26 per cent, while Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1 per cent lower.
US stocks closed higher
In overnight trade, S&P 500 index gained 0.42 per cent to 4,097.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 0.17 per cent to 33,503.57 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index climbed 1.03 per cent to 13,829.31. US stocks have benefited this week from a cooling off in the bond market. Yields, which had been steadily ticking higher, have retreated from highs hit earlier in the month.
Macrotech IPO subscribed 35% on Day 2
The initial public offer of Macrotech Developers was subscribed 35 per cent on Thursday, the second day of subscription. The Rs 2,500-crore issue received bids for 1,26,56,070 shares against 3,64,18,219 shares on offer, according to an update on the NSE.
DIIs buy Rs 553 crore worth stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 110.85 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 552.78 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The Indian rupee weakened further by 11 paise against the dollar currency to close at its weakest level in nearly five months on Thursday. Logging its fourth straight session loss, the domestic currency settled at 74.58 to the US dollar – the lowest level for the rupee since November 13, 2019.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield declined 0.84 per cent to 6.03 after trading in 6.03-6.09 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.14 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.50 per cent.
EVENTS/DATA TO WATCH
India Loan/Deposit Growth YoY March/26 (05:00 pm)
India Foreign Exchange Reserves 02/April (05:00 pm)
China Inflation Rate YoY March (07:00 am)
China PPI YoY March (07:00 am)
UK Halifax House Price Index MoM March (01:00 pm)
UK Halifax House Price Index YoY March (01:00 pm)
UK BoE Quarterly Bulletin (04:30 pm)
US Wholesale Inventories MoM Feb (07:30 pm)
IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings
MACROS
India’s cyclical recovery may have peaked… The path of the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine rollout and the extent of lockdowns are the only three things that matter for the Indian equity market now, said Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies.”I reduced the weighting on India in the Greed and Fear note published last Thursday simply because it had become clear that the cases are rising at a very rapid rate. The only reason I reduced the overweight on India was because of the pick-up in cases, which means that the cyclical pick-up in activity has probably peaked for the moment,” he said.
Fed’s Powell reassures markets… US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday the central bank is nowhere near reducing its support for the U.S. economy, saying at an International Monetary Fund event that while the economic reopening could result in a momentary surge in prices, he expects it to be temporary and it will not constitute inflation. Powell’s comments reaffirmed the accommodative stance outlined in the minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting published on Wednesday.
Covid could disrupt banking normalcy… The banking sector returned to some sense of normalcy in the fourth quarter as collection efficiency came close to or at pre-Covid levels, loan growth recovered and clarity emerged after the Supreme Court (SC) order gave its final verdict in cases related to the moratorium on loans. However, a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, leading to localised lockdowns in various states, has analysts focus on risk-mitigation measures.
Footfalls dwindle at malls… As daily Covid-19 cases in the country touched a new peak this week and states imposed restrictions on commercial activities, shoppers in many cities are staying away from malls and fashion retailers fear they could lose 20-25% of their business in the first quarter of this financial year. Overall footfalls have dropped by 15-30% in various cities in the past three weeks, mall owners and retailers said.
Oyo gets NCLAT stay on bankruptcy plea… Oyo on Thursday said that appellate body NCLAT has ordered a stay on the formation of committee of creditors (CoC) in bankruptcy proceedings against its subsidiary Oyo Hotels and Homes. Earlier, the NCLT had admitted a petition for initiating insolvency proceedings against Oyo for recovery of Rs 16 lakh, an order that the hospitality firm challenged before the appellate tribunal on Wednesday.
FIIs flock to realty, insurance stocks… Real estate and insurance stocks absorbed the bulk of the foreign fund inflows in March. While flows have tapered to $1.43 billion during the month compared to an average net inflow of $5 billion in the previous five months due to the fresh uncertainties over rising US bond yields and increase in Covid-19 cases, this is the first time in many years these investors have focused on the real estate sector.
MFs reverse outflow trend…Strong inflows in sectoral & thematic, tax savings and midcap schemes helped the mutual fund (MF) industry reverse its eight-month trend of net outflows from equity plans in March 2021. The month also witnessed, for the first time ever, inflows through systematic investment plans (SIPs) cross the Rs 9k cr mark, data from industry trade body AMFI showed. The data for fiscal 2021 also showed that the fund industry had grown its assets under management (AUM) by 41% to Rs 31.4 lakh crore. This came mainly because of the smart recovery in the stock market in the last one year
