Here’s breaking down the pre-market actions:
STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 16 points, or 0.10 per cent, higher at 16,276.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.
- Tech View: Nifty50 on Wednesday formed a bullish candle on the daily chart as it topped the 16,250 mark on a closing basis. The NSE barometer has been forming higher highs and lows for a few days.
- India VIX: The fear gauge eased 4 per cent to 13.21 level on Wednesday over its close at 13.75 on Tuesday.
Asian stocks higher early trade
Asian shares were trading with mild gains on Thursday, shrugging off the worries about coronavirus infections and mixed overnight trade on Wall Street. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.15 per cent.
- Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.15%
- Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.12%
- Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.13%
- China’s Shanghai inched up 0.07%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 0.34%
US stocks ended mixed
Wall Street’s main indices closed mostly lower on Wednesday as investors weighed another batch of corporate earnings and economic data that could shed more light on how the economic recovery is going. S&P 500 fell from a record high hit a day earlier.
- Dow Jones tanked 0.92% to 34,792.67
- S&P 500 shed 0.46% to 4,402.66
- Nasdaq added 0.13% to 14,780.53
Dollar trades firm
The dollar was poised to push higher on Thursday as hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve led markets to bring forward the likely timing of a policy tightening there, while action in Europe and Japan remain distant prospects.
- Dollar index firmed to 92.293
- Euro slipped to $1.1837
- Pound declined to $1.3884
- Yen weakened to 109.51 per dollar
- Yuan depreciated to 6.4637 against the greenback
Oil prices rose amidst tension
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, supported by tensions in the Middle East, but failed to regain most of the previous day’s losses after a surprise build in crude stockpiles in the United States, the world’s top oil consumer. Brent crude oil futures rose by 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.52 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $68.33 a barrel.
FPIs buy shares worth Rs 2829 cr
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 2,828.57 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs, turned sellers to the tune of 411.36 crore, data suggests.
Q1 earnings
Adani Transmission, Cipla, GAIL (India), Gujarat Gas, Honeywell Automation, Adani Power, REC, Aditya Capital, Ipca Labs, Tata Chemicals, KIOCL, Escorts, Thermax, Quess Corp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Birla Corp and Narayana Hrudayalaya are among the company that will announce quarterly earnings today.
MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The Indian rupee added another 9 paise to mark its highest level in over five weeks at 74.19 against the US dollar on Wednesday, aided by bullish equities and subdued crude oil prices.
10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield eased up marginally 0.02 per cent to 6.2 after trading in 6.19 – 6.21 range.
Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.18 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.40 per cent.
EVENTS/DATA TO WATCH
- Q1 Earnings: Adani Transmission | Adani Power | Cipla | GAIL
- UK BoE Interest Rate Decision (4:30 pm)
- US Total Vehicle Sales JUL (5:30 am)
- US Balance of Trade JUN (6 pm)
- US Exports/Imports JUN (6 pm)
- US Fed Waller Speech (7:30 pm)
- AU Balance of Trade JUN (7 am)
- AU Exports/Imports JUN (7 am)
- EA Construction PMI JUL (1 pm)
- AC ECB Economic Bulletin (1:30 pm)
MACROS
Birla quits as non-executive chairman of Vi
Aditya Birla Group (ABG) chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has resigned as nonexecutive chairman and director of cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi). The development casts further gloom at a time when the telco is desperately trying to raise funds and seek government aid to continue operations. Himanshu Kapania, currently non-executive director and the former managing director of the erstwhile Idea Cellular before its merger with Vodafone India, will replace Birla.
Services activity contracted in July
India’s services activity contracted — though at a slower pace — for the third consecutive month in July, due to subdued demand conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic and local restrictions, a private survey showed on Wednesday. “July data was somewhat disappointing, with incoming new business and output falling solidly over the month, but there was at least a slowdown in rates of contraction,” said Pollyanna De Lima, associate director at IHS Markit which conducted the survey. The India Services Business Activity Index was 45.4 in July, compared with 41.2 in June. A reading above 50 indicates expansion and lower than that shows contraction.
Earnings downgrades have begun
The negative effects of the lockdown on businesses on account of the second wave of coronavirus are beginning to show on analysts’ profitability expectations of Indian companies. Downgrades in earnings estimates by analysts at leading brokerages have outnumbered upgrades in the past four weeks. But analysts say the extent of downgrades after the second Covid-19 wave starting April could be less drastic than those in 2020 as the lockdowns this year has been less severe than the previous one.
Repurchase option for gold bonds
The Reserve Bank of India is giving a repurchase option for investors in sovereign gold bond (SGB) Tranche no 4 (Series 1 of 2016017) and Tranche no 2 of (SGB 2016 1) at a price of Rs 4,804 per gram. Investors in these bonds have completed five years and they have the option to opt for repurchase, sell it on the stock exchange or continue to hold it till its maturity which happens after eight years after purchase of the bond.
Airtel chief hopes for relief to telecom
Bharti Airtel chief executive Gopal Vittal has expressed hope that the government will offer quick relief to the telecom sector to ensure that India remains a market of at least three private players. Vittal also said Airtel is open to monetise its stake in Airtel Payments Bank (APB) to raise additional resources even as he expressed the telco’s “disappointment” over a recent Supreme Court ruling, denying operators any relief on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues front.
ED arrests Gautam Thapar in laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Avantha Group of companies promoter Gautam Thapar on charges of playing a key role in laundering more than Rs 500 crore in a Yes Bank loan fraud case. Thapar, 60, was remanded in one-day custodial interrogation of the ED by a local court on Wednesday, after being arrested the previous night following raids by the agency against his businesses in Delhi and Mumbai.
House panel calls for IBC overhaul
A parliamentary standing committee appointed to examine the workings of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has recommended an overhaul of the present system including a threshold rate of haircut for creditors. It has also recommended a new supervisory body to oversee resolution professionals and suggested that only high court judges be appointed to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to ensure quicker disposal of cases.
Naidu suspends 6 Trinamool MPs for a day
Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday suspended six Trinamool MPs from the House for a day for ‘disorderly behaviour’. The government also pushed through three bills in the din amid opposition protest for the 12th consecutive day of the monsoon session. Minutes after the House met, Trinamool and Congress members trooped into the Well, displayed placards and shouted slogans. Naidu then said some members were being expelled under Rule 255 of the Rules of Procedure for a day.
