STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a muted start
Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange traded 46.5 points, or 0.28 per cent, lower at 16,481.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a muted start on Monday.
- Tech View: NSE barometer Nifty50 on Friday took out the 16,500 level, forming a bullish candle on both daily and weekly scales. This was the fifth straight day when the index logged gains.
- India VIX: The fear gauge climbed 5 per cent to 12.99 level on Friday over its close at 12.37 on Thursday.
Asian stocks fall in early trade
Asian peers opened lower as concerns over rising coronavirus cases in Japan continued to weigh on the market. South Korean and Thai stock markets remained shut on Monday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan’s Nikkei tanked 1.35 per cent.
- New Zealand’s DJ added 0.35%
- Australia’s ASX 200 shed 0.39%
- China’s Shanghai declined 0.06%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.38%
US stocks ended higher on Friday
Stocks managed to eke out tiny gains after another day of wobbly trading, leaving the S&P500 index higher for the second week in a row. Wall Street gave way Friday to small gains and new highs for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- Dow Jones climbed 0.04% to 35,515.38
- S&P 500 gained 0.16% to 4,468
- Nasdaq inched up 0.04% to 14,822.90
Dollar languishes near one-week low
The dollar held near a one-week low against major peers on Monday, after slumping the most in almost seven weeks on Friday as diving US consumer confidence hurt bets for an early tightening of Federal Reserve policy.
- Dollar index steady at 92.528
- Euro flat at $1.17960
- Pound gained to $1.3860
- Yen jumped to 109.455 per dollar
- Yuan unchanged at 6.4774 against the greenback
Oil prices down as virus cases surge
Oil prices fell more than 1 per cenr on Monday, dropping for a third session, as government-imposed restrictions on mobility to counter the spread of the Delta variant raised worries about a recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude was down 80 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $69.79 a barrel. US oil fell by 81 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $67.63 a barrel, having risen slightly last week.
FPIs buy shares worth Rs 820 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 819.77 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were buyers to the tune of Rs 149.5 crore, data suggests. FPIs bought Indian equities worth Rs 2,085 crore in the first half of August.
Q1 earnings today
Sharp India, Shine Fashions:
and Shine Fashions (India) are only a couple of the companies that will announce quarterly earnings today.
4 cos to make market debut
Dalal Street will be busy welcoming four companies today. Devyani International, Krsnaa Diagnostics,
Tiles and Windlass Biotech mark their debut today. Grey market premiums for many of them have come down thanks to selling in broader markets.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The Indian rupee reversed its intra-day losses to close almost flat at 74.24 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong rally in domestic equities.
10-year bond: India 10-year bond yield gained 0.24 per cent to 6.24 after trading in 6.22 – 6.25 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.21 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.40 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- IN WPI Food YoY JUL (12 pm)
- IN WPI Fuel YoY JUL (12 pm)
- IN WPI Manufacturing YoY JUL (12 pm)
- IN WPI Inflation YoY JUL (12 pm)
- JP GDP Growth Rate QoQ Prel Q2 (5:20 am)
- CN Industrial Production YoY JUL (7:30 am)
- US 3-Month Bill Auction (9 pm)
- US 6-Month Bill Auction (9 pm)
MACROS
Increasing tech salaries hit cost reduction plans
One year ago, a US-based firm made plans to move its technology development work to India, buoyed by the easy availability of highly skilled tech workers and a 30% cost saving in hiring. However, by the time it was ready to start recruiting last month, tech salaries had risen significantly, all but erasing the projected cost reduction that had made the proposition so attractive. This company’s case is not unique. Several others who are currently hiring in India have found that their budgets have had to be reworked to accommodate the changes in the IT marketplace.
Vodafone Idea staring at slow death
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is staring at a “slow death” if it fails to quickly raise $3.5-5 billion (Rs 26,000- 37,000 crore) that it urgently requires to meet stiff payment obligations, including adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, and also invest in 4G networks, analysts said. On Saturday, cash-strapped Vi’s June quarter losses widened to Rs 7,312.9 crore, stung by a mix of higher interest costs and heavy customer losses. Its quarterly revenue fell 4.73% sequentially to Rs 9,152.3 crore and average revenue per user (ARPU)—a key performance metric—fell to Rs 104 from Rs 107. Vi, in fact, reported its lowest quarterly revenue in more than two years.
Taliban enters Kabul; Prez flees
Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents entered Kabul on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani left the country and the US Embassy said the capital’s airport, where diplomats, officials and other Afghans had fled, had come under fire. It was not yet clear where Ghani was headed or how power would be transferred following the militant Islamist group’s lighting sweep across Afghanistan that led back to the capital two decades after it was overthrown by US-led forces.
India’s real GDP seen at 14.2-23.3%
The Indian economy likely grew 19-20% in the first quarter this fiscal year, aided by the strong base effect from a year ago, when it contracted by almost a quarter, offsetting the effects of the second Covid wave, an
ET poll of economists said. The median estimate was 19.5% for Q1, in a 14.2-23.3% range. The full-year gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 7.9-9.6%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects 21.4% GDP growth in the first quarter and 9.5% in the entire fiscal. India’s GDP grew 1.6% in the preceding quarter but contracted a record 7.3% in FY21.
Modi unveils Rs 100 cr plan to boost infra
In his Independence Day speech that touched upon a host of important issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will launch a ₹100 lakh crore Gati Shakti initiative aimed at giving a boost to manufacturing sector and infrastructure that will generate huge employment opportunities for the youth. In a 90-minute speech, the Prime Minister also announced a National Hydrogen Mission that will make India a hub of hydrogen energy export in the coming months.
