STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a flat start
Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange traded 10 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 17,109.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a tepid start on Thursday.
- Tech View: Nifty50 on Wednesday formed a bearish candle on the daily scale. Analysts said the index is likely to see short-term consolidation and advised traders to buy on dips.
- India VIX: The fear gauge eased over 2 per cent to 14.18 level on Wednesday over its close at 14.52 on Tuesday.
Asian stocks gain in early trade
Asian markets opened mostly higher on Thursday in cautious trade after a mixed close on Wall Street, with investors looking ahead to US jobs data due this week. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.28 per cent.
- Japan’s Nikkei added 0.05%
- China’s Shanghai gained 0.15%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.86%
- Korea’s Kospi declined 0.52%
- Australia’s ASX200 shed 1.06%
US stocks settled mixed
The Nasdaq closed Wednesday at a record high, with the S&P 500 ending near its previous peak, as September kicked off with renewed buying of technology stocks and private payrolls data, which supported the case for dovish monetary policy.
- Dow Jones shed 0.14% to 35,312.53
- S&P500 inched up 0.03% to 4,524.09
- Nasdaq zoomed 0.33% to 15,309.38
Dollar hovers at multi-week low
The dollar loitered around multi-week lows on Thursday, pressured by softer-than-expected US labour data as traders awaited a fuller jobs readout, which is expected to guide the timing of Federal Reserve’s pullback in bond buying.
- Dollar index fell to 92.497
- Euro gained to $1.1857
- Pound edged up to $1.3770
- Yen rose to 109.97 per dollar
- Yuan at 6.4613 against the greenback
Oil falls as OPEC+ sticks to raising supply
Oil prices fell on Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to keep its policy of gradually returning supply to the market at a time when coronavirus cases around the world are surging and many US refiners, a key source of crude demand, remained offline. Brent crude was down by 52 cents, or 0.7 per cent, at $71.07 a barrel. US oil fell 56 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $68.03 a barrel.
FPIs buy shares worth Rs 667 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 666.66 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were sellers to the tune of Rs 1,287.87 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee snapped its four-session winning run to close 8 paise lower at 73.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday as muted domestic equities and a strengthening greenback overseas weighed on the market sentiment.
10-year bond: India 10-year bond yield eased 0.26 per cent to 6.20 after trading in 6.20 – 6.23 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.18 per cent on Wednesday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 2.00-3.40 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- IN Balance of Trade Prel AUG (5:50 am)
- IN Exports Prel AUG (5:50 am)
- IN Imports Prel AUG (5:50 am)
- AU Balance of Trade JUL (7 am)
- AU Home Loans MoM JUL (7 am)
- AU Imports MoM JUL (7 am)
- US Balance of Trade JUL (6 pm)
- US Nonfarm Productivity QoQ Final Q2 (6 pm)
- US Initial Jobless Claims 28/AUG (6 pm)
- US Jobless Claims 4-week Average AUG/28 (6 pm)
- US Continuing Jobless Claims 21/AUG (6 pm)
- US Factory Orders MoM JUL (7:30 pm)
MACROS
Economic recovery on track
India’s economic recovery remained on track in August with goods and services tax (GST) collections staying in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore while automakers sold more cars than in the year earlier despite a semiconductor and parts shortage. Petrol and diesel demand increased 14% and 16%, respectively, the railways carried 16.9% more freight and electricity demand rose 18.6%, suggesting greater movement of goods and people in the just concluded month.
Confusion over crypto tax
The tax department as well as investors are in a quandary over how to calculate gains on cryptocurrency for taxation purposes, especially since tax laws flounder and conflict against certain regulations and tax is calculated on the value declared by the assessee. The main problem for taxation is that there is no clarity on what cryptocurrencies are. That is, whether they are currency, asset, commodity or something else. Till that is articulated, investors and traders will be able to get around taxation. The other problem is that tax rates may also differ for someone who is an investor and someone who trades for a living.
Sebi plans norms for digital gold trades
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to regulate online trades in digital gold now sold by various fintech firms and brokerages, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. The capital-markets watchdog is seeking to fill the regulatory vacuum in an asset class that’s becoming increasingly popular with new-age investors.
RBI to set up panel on NUE licences
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up a committee to scrutinise applications and give recommendations on new umbrella entity (NUE) licences, ET reported. NUEs will establish their own payment infrastructure to compete with National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI).
