>> Chris Wood says India’s cyclical recovery may have peaked
>> Tata Steel on a high, hits new peak after 14 years
>> HDFC Bank’s loss is ICICI Bank’s gain
>> FPIs flock to realty and insurance stocks
Hi there. Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Sandeep Singh.
Let’s start with a quick glance on the state of the markets.
Dalal Street looked looked set for a negative start this morning, as Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange fell some 50 points, changing direction after quoting marginally higher, while stocks in other Asian markets wavered. Stocks on Wall Street rallied overnight after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s assurance that the central bank can reinvigorate the economy without stoking painful inflation. In currencies, the rupee fell for the fourth straight session on Thursday, and the dollar held losses this morning. Oil edged up toward $60 a barrel as Saudi Arabia defended the OPEC+ plan to increase output.
That said, here’s what else is making news.
Christopher Wood of Jefferies says India’s cyclical recovery may have peaked. The path of the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine rollout and the extent of lockdowns are the only three things that matter for the Indian equity market now, he said. “I reduced the weighting on India in the GREED and Fear note last Thursday simply because it had become clear that the cases are rising at a very rapid rate. The only reason I reduced the overweight on India was because of the pick-up in cases, which means that the cyclical pick-up in activity has probably peaked for the moment,” he said.
Those remarks would surely add to the jitters on Dalal Street.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday that the US central bank was nowhere near reducing its support for the US economy. He said at an IMF event that while the economic reopening could result in a momentary surge in prices, he expects it to be temporary and will not constitute inflation. His comments reaffirmed the accommodative stance outlined in the minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting published on Wednesday.
Tata Steel is shining again. Shares of Tata group firm hit record highs on Thursday after nearly 14 years, extending the recent bullish momentum driven by a resurgence in global metal prices. The company’s market value crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time earlier this week, as analysts said the stock has room to run up more in the near future.
HDFC Bank’s loss is turning out to be gains for its close rivals. ICICI Bank and SBI Cards made the most out of the regulatory ban that HDFC Bank faces on issuing new credit cards. ICICI Bank gained the most, followed by SBI Cards and Axis Bank, latest regulatory data showed. ICICI Bank recorded a 10% rise in spends in January over December while its fresh cards grew nearly 3%. In the overall tally, it gained a 1.5% market share.
Realty and insurance stocks absorbed the bulk of the FPI flows in March. While flows tapered to $1.43 billion during the month compared with the average net inflow of $5 billion in the previous five months due to the fresh uncertainties over rising US bond yields and a rise in Covid-19 cases, this is the first time in many years these investors have focused on the real estate sector.
And lastly, Oyo on Thursday said that appellate body NCLAT has ordered a stay on the formation of committee of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings against its subsidiary Oyo Hotels and Homes. Earlier, the NCLT had admitted a petition for initiating insolvency proceedings against Oyo for recovery of Rs 16 lakh, an order that the hospitality firm challenged before the appellate tribunal on Wednesday.
NOW Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning…
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal will see his stake in flagship Vedanta increase to 65.2% from the existing 55.1%, if he accepts all the shares tendered by minority shareholders in the open offer.
Axis Bank becoming a promoter of Max Life has reduced pressure on the life insurance company to diversify its distribution channel. The private lender accounts for 55-60% of the insurer’s sales.
Amazon has moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi HC’s order that vacated a stay on Kishore Biyani-led Future Group proceeding with its Rs 24,713 crore asset sale to RIL.
Coffee Day Enterprises said it has Rs 518 crore of debt, including both short and long term, and that it has defaulted on about Rs 263 crore of payments.
DoT has told the Supreme Court that major Bharti Airtel has refused to pay the AGR-related dues of defunct telco Videocon Telecommunications, whose spectrum was acquired by the Sunil Mittal-led carrier in 2016.
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 put with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!
