– Q1 GDP grows 20.1% on low base effect
– Fiscal deficit at 9-year low
– South Korea bans Google, Apple payment monopolies
– Porus to buy BillDesk for $4.7 billion
Now lemme give you a quick glance on the state of the markets.
Dalal Street is likely to have a muted start this morning. Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 8 points higher at 8:30 hours (IST). Asian markets opened mostly lower Wednesday following falls on Wall Street overnight as investors shifted their focus to US employment data. Barring Japan, mostly Asian markets were trading in the red.
Elsewhere, the yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped to 1.32%. The dollar traded near its lowest point in nearly three weeks versus major peers on Wednesday, with investors focused on a key US jobs report due on Friday for clues on when the Federal Reserve might begin paring stimulus. Oil prices were stable on Wednesday ahead of an OPEC+ meeting, at which major producers will decide whether to go ahead with their plan to add supply while COVID-19 cases soar in Asia and U.S. refiners assess flood damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Brent crude futures were up 5 cents at $71.70 a barrel, after losing 42 cents on Tuesday.
That said, here’s what is making news.
The bullish momentum in Indian equities that catapulted the Nifty above 17,000 and the Sensex past 57,000 for the first time ever on Tuesday could last a while. The stock benchmarks could gain over 8% in the rest of 2021, according to an ET poll of 18 market participants, as an expected rebound in corporate earnings and continued liquidity could keep sentiment buoyant. Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, HDFC are among their top stock picks. About 75% of poll participants said the best is still not over for smaller shares.
The valuation premium of Indian equities compared with emerging market counterparts has risen to a decade high. According to Bloomberg data, the MSCI India index, a measure used by global fund managers to gauge the performance of Indian equities denominated in dollar terms, trades at 80% premium to the MSCI EM index, which represents the emerging market (EM) equities. It is much higher than the long term average premium of 44%. Indian equities delivered an annual return of 12% compared with the 6% return of the EM index in the past five years.
Market participants tend to treat several stocks like hot potatoes when there are concerns that share prices are perceived to have run up too soon. At this point, the focus is on stocks that are seeing an increase in investor interest. In the BSE500 index, 34 stocks including Gujarat Pipavav, Finolex Industries, TCS, VA Tech Wabag, HDFC Bank, Brigade Enterprises, and Reliance Industries, have seen a steady increase in trading and delivery-based volumes over the last
four days.
LASTLY,
Though Ami Organics may be among the first of the intermediate players to get listed, there are several larger and fast growing companies in the bulk drugs and speciality chemicals space for investors to choose from. The post-issue valuations stand at 32 times its net profit for FY21. There are listed bulk drugs and chemical companies such as Neuland Labs and Valiant Organics that are larger in size and cheaper in valuation. Besides, the pandemic-sparked rally in the pharma-API players has played out with valuations rationalising now. Investors interested in this small-size chemicals company may get a better chance to invest after the listing.
NOW Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning…
Financial technology company Infibeam Avenues is in talks with US-based private equity firm Bernstein Equity partners for selling a substantial stake in the company.
Kotak Mahindra Bank will sell its 8.6% holding in Airtel Payments Bank to the Mittal-controlled Bharti Enterprises for close to Rs 300 crore.
The government has extended Vedanta’s contract for the prolific Rajasthan oilfield by a further three months, and not by 10
years that the company has been seeking, pending settlement of a dispute over $520 million cost recovery.
Shoppers Stop said it has sold a controlling stake in Crossword Bookstores to owners of Agarwal Business House (ABH) for Rs 41.6 crore, part of its wider strategy to exit non-core businesses.
Do also check out over two dozen stock recommendations for today’s trade from top analysts on ETMarkets.com.
That’s it for now. Stay with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!
