STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 58 points, or 0.33 per cent, lower at 17,684, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Thursday.
- Tech View: Nifty50 on Wednesday formed a small bullish candle on the daily chart. Analysts said 13-day SMA can offer good support to the index going ahead.
- India VIX: The fear gauge jumped 2 per cent to 18.84 level on Wednesday over its close at 18.53 on Tuesday.
Asian stocks fall in early trade
Most Asian markets fell Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the deadline for the US debt ceiling bill later in the day, fearing a potential government shutdown, analysts said. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.35 per cent.
- Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.06%
- Australia’s ASX 200 soared 1.18%
- Korea’s Kospi declined 0.10%
- China’s Shanghai added 0.53%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.01%
US stocks ended a wobbly day mixed
Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday in a partial rebound from the previous day’s broad sell-off, with remarks from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the ongoing debt ceiling debate keeping a lid on gains.
- Dow Jones added 0.26% to 34,390.72
- S&P 500 gained 0.16% to 4,359.46
- Nasdaq declined 0.24% to 14,512.44
Dollar nears one-year high level
The dollar hovered near a one-year high versus major peers on Thursday, following a two-day surge amid expectations for a tapering of Federal Reserve stimulus from November and a possible interest rate hike in late 2022.
- Dollar index rose to 94.336
- Euro held steady to $1.1602
- Pound edged up to $1.34355
- Yen weakened to 111.86 per dollar
- Yuan unchanged at 6.4710 against the greenback
FPIs sell shares worth Rs 1,896 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1896.02 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of rRs 3,262.16 crore, data suggests.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee slid 8 paise to close at a more than one-month low of 74.14 against the dollar on Wednesday, declining for a fourth session in a row due to month-end dollar demand and a stronger greenback in the global markets amid rising bond yields.
10-year bond: India 10-year bond declined 0.35 per cent to 6.21 after trading in 6.20-6.22 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.19 per cent on Wednesday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.95-3.40 per cent.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- GB Nationwide Housing Prices SEP (11:30 am)
- GB Current Account Q2 (11:30 am)
- GB GDP Growth Rate Final Q2 (11:30 am)
- JP BoJ Gov Kuroda Speech (12:40 pm)
- EA Unemployment Rate AUG (2:30 pm)
- EA Inflation Rate YoY Prel SEP (2:30 pm)
- IN Government Budget Value AUG (5 pm)
- IN Infrastructure Output YoY AUG (5 pm)
- IN Current Account Q2 (5:30 pm)
- US Initial Jobless Claims 25/SEP (6 pm)
- US GDP Price Index QoQ Final Q2 (6 pm)
- US GDP Growth Rate QoQ Final Q2 (6 pm)
- US Fed Williams Speech (7:30 pm)
MACROS
Govt fixes minimum reserve price for Air India
The government on Wednesday decided on the minimum reserve price for national carrier Air India and met the two bidders for further discussions, said people with knowledge of the matter. Others said that the government may have taken a view on the bids.
Festive stocking fires up consumer goods sales in September
Sales of consumer products from pulses and edible oils to refrigerators and smartphones improved sequentially in September, after reporting a drop in August, according to the latest data from market trackers and industry estimates. This has raised corporate expectations of buoyant festive season demand, the peak sales period in India.
Working to ensure balanced trade deals: Goyal
The government is working to ensure balanced trade deals and is in talks with countries with which India has equitable trade interest, said commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.
Expect more than 7% growth for India : CEA
Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian on Wednesday said India will clock over 7 per cent annual growth during this decade on the back of strong economic fundamentals. During the current fiscal, he said, growth would be in double-digits and it could moderate to 6.5 – 7 per cent in the next financial year.
FPIs ask Sebi to postpone T+1
Foreign funds have stepped up their opposition to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plan to shift to a shorter T+1 settlement cycle. Three leading offshore fund lobby groups – the Asian Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), Traders Forum of Hong Kong and the UK-based Investment Association – have sent a joint letter to Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi alleging that they were not consulted on the new rules.
EV cos rue high PLI qualification level
Indian companies that specialise in the manufacturing of electric two and three-wheelers believe they will be left out of the government’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme because the qualification criteria are too steep for them to meet. An automaker must have a group-level revenue of at least Rs 10,000 crore and have made a minimum investment of Rs 3,000 crore in fixed assets to qualify under the recently announced Rs 25,938-crore scheme to promote the manufacturing of battery and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
