STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a flat start
Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange traded 7 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 16,556, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a muted start on Tuesday.
- Tech View: Nifty50 on Monday formed a bullish candle on the daily chart but drifted further into overbought territory, calling for caution.
- India VIX: The fear gauge climbed 4 per cent to 13.46 level on Monday over its close at 12.99 on Friday.
Asian stocks fall in early trade
Asian markets were trading mostly lower, giving up early gains on Tuesday, after Wall Street finished mostly higher, setting fresh records. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down by 0.45 per cent.
- Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.08%
- Korea’s Kospi declined 0.60%
- Australia’s ASX 200 tanked 0.76%
- China’s Shanghai added 0.17%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.03%
US stocks settled higher
US stock indices closed at record highs as investors moved into defensive sectors and stocks recovered from losses earlier in the session, shaking off glum economic data out of China.
- Dow Jones climbed 0.31% to 35,625.40
- S&P 500 gained 0.26% to 4,479.71
- Nasdaq declined 0.20% to 14,793.76
Dollar eased as sentiment weakened
The dollar eased while other safe-haven currencies such as the yen held firm against riskier currencies on Tuesday, as disappointing economic data from China, the spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus and political tension in Afghanistan weighed on risk appetite.
- Dollar index stood at 92.675
- Euro edged up to $1.1785
- Pound gained to $1.3829
- Yen jumped to 109.24 per dollar
- Yuan appreciated to 6.4771 against the greenback
Oil prices rise on bargain hunting
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering from the previous day’s losses, as investors sought bargains and on expectations that major producers will not boost supply soon, though fears of weaker global demand amid surging pandemic capped gains. Brent crude was up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $69.64 a barrel by 0055 GMT US oil climbed by 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.43.
FPIs sell shares worth Rs 1,088 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,088.32 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were buyers to the tune of Rs 506.21 crore, data suggests.
Q1 earnings today
Opto Circuits India and Kumaka Industries are only a couple of the companies that will announce quarterly earnings today.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The Indian rupee closed almost flat at 74.14, rising marginally against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a rally in domestic equities.
10-year bond: On Monday, 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 on Monday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.40 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- US Fed Chair Powell Speech (11 pm)
- US Retail Sales JUL (6 pm)
- US Redbook YoY 14/AUG (6:25 pm)
- US Industrial Production JUL (6:45 pm)
- US Business Inventories MoM JUN (7:30 pm)
- AU RBA Meeting Minutes (7 am)
- GB Claimant Count Change JUL (11:30 am)
- GB Unemployment Rate JUN (11:30 am)
- EA Employment Change Prel Q2 (2:30 pm)
- EA GDP Growth Rate 2nd Est Q2 (2:30 pm)
MACROS
Govt may infuse more capital in 3 general insurers
The government may infuse more capital in three loss-making, state-owned general insurers to help them meet regulatory requirements and prepare them for listing and privatisation. Initial estimates suggest these companies–National Insurance Co. Ltd, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd and United India Insurance Co. Ltd–together need about ₹5,000 crore.
Double tax for NFTs
After cryptocurrencies, the non-fungible token or NFT has attracted the taxman’s attention as any purchase of the blockchain digital file will attract equalisation levy and goods and services tax (GST). This would mean that any NFT bought could become dearer by a few percentage points. The tax department is set to slap a 2% equalisation levy on these transactions. Also, the indirect tax department would seek that the exchanges pay GST on the transaction value, ET reported.
Higher output cuts at Maruti
Maruti
may resort to a deeper-than-expected 30-40% cut in vehicle production this month, as the shortage of semiconductors remains severe, ET reported. For the nation’s top car manufacturer, this would mean a loss of 50,000-60,000 units in production and Rs 2,500-3,000 crore in revenue in August. This could also affect the availability of popular models in the upcoming festive season, with demand already on an upswing.
Wholesale inflation cools in July
India’s wholesale price inflation eased for the second consecutive month in July to 11.16% from 12.07% a month ago but remained in double digits for the fourth month, led by manufactured items, data released by the government on Monday showed.
Indian economy bouncing back: FM
The economy is recovering from the second pandemic wave and is on the path of revival, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding that the government is keen to step up capital spending.
