STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 41 points, or 0.23 per cent, higher at 18,358.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.
- Tech View: Nifty50 on Wednesday closed below its 5-day moving average (DMA) and in the process formed a bearish candle on the daily chart, for the second straight session.
- India VIX: The fear gauge spiked over 5 per cent to 18.31 level on Wednesday over its close at 17.38 on Tuesday.
Asian shares traded mixed
Asian shares opened mostly higher on Thursday as rising US bond yields worried investors, although overnight gains on Wall Street provided some support. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.12 per cent.
- Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.27%
- South Korea’s Kospi added 0.19%
- Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.34%
- China’s Shanghai jumped 0.14%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.17%
Wall Street ended higher
The S&P 500 and the Dow closed higher on Wednesday as investors eyed better than expected third-quarter earnings from U.S. companies. Both indices flirted with record highs after strong forecasts from healthcare companies Anthem and Abbott, while the Nasdaq lagged as technology stocks took a breather.
- Dow Jones gained 0.43% at 35,609.34
- S&P 500 jumped 0.37% to 4,536.19
- Nasdaq declined 0.05% to 15,121.68
Commodity currencies at multi-month highs
Commodity currencies stood near multi-month highs on Thursday on strong raw material prices while the improved risk mood saw the US dollar losing earlier momentum built from expectations the Federal Reserve would tighten monetary policy.
- Dollar Index eased to 93.532
- Euro held firm at $1.1652
- Pound gained to $1.3828
- Yen was hovering near 114.39 per dollar
- Yuan depreciated to 6.3896 against the greenback
extend gains
Oil prices rose on Thursday to extend gains from the previous session as U.S. crude and fuel inventories tightened further, with supplies of gasoline hitting a two-year low, pointing to strong demand. Brent crude futures climbed 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.99 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December gained 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $83.79 a barrel.
FPIs sell shares worth Rs 1843 cr
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1843.09 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs turned net sellers to the tune of 1680.73 crore, data suggests.
Q2 earnings
Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Mphasis, IDBI Bank, Macrotech Developers, Concor, Biocon, TVS Motor, Indian Hotels, IEX and IndiaMART InterMESH In are among the companies that will announce their September quarter results today.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee on Wednesday surged by 47 paise to close at a nearly two-week high of 74.88 against the US dollar on easing global crude oil prices and rising appetite for riskier assets.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond eased 0.22 per cent to 6.37 after trading in 6.36 – 6.43 range on Wednesday.
DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH
- Q2 Results: Asian Paints | JSW Steel | TVS Motor
- AU Annual Report 2021 (10 am)
- GB CBI Industrial Trends Orders OCT (3:30 pm)
- GB CBI Business Optimism Index Q4 (3:30 pm)
- US Initial Jobless Claims 16/OCT (6 pm)
- US Jobless Claims 4-week Average OCT/16 (6 pm)
- US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index OCT (6 pm)
- US Fed Waller Speech (6:30 pm)
- EA Consumer Confidence Flash OCT (7:30 pm)
- US Existing Home Sales MoM SEP (7:30 pm)
MACROS
Petrol and diesel rates at fresh all-time high
Fuel continues to pinch this festive season. In Delhi, petrol and diesel rates are up 35 paise to cost Rs 106.54 and Rs 95.27 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 112.44 a litre and diesel at Rs 103. 26. It’s Rs 107.12 & Rs 98.38 in Kolkata and Rs 103.61 and Rs 99.59 in Chennai respectively.
Short-term loans in the works for discoms
The Centre is working to offer quick short-term loans to power distribution companies as their accumulated electricity bills payable to generating houses are nearing ₹1 lakh crore.
Monsoon set to withdraw by October 26
India’s southwest monsoon rains are likely to finish withdrawing from the country by October 26, according to the weather office, marking one of the most delayed retreats of the vital weather system on record.
Industrial output regains lost ground
A rebound in industrial production and demand owing to easing mobility restrictions fuelled India’s current recovery with production appearing to have regained lost ground during the second Covid-19 wave, Moody’s Analytics said in a report on reopening in the Asia Pacific region.
Coal shortage continues at thermal plants
Coal shortage at thermal power projects is still continuing as the number of non-pit head projects having less than four days of coal (supercritical stock) rose to 61 on Tuesday from 58 on Monday, official data showed.
