The Indian equities market is set for a positive opening despite its global peers trading in the red, as the US Federal Reserve said that further rate cuts in December were far from a “foregone conclusion.” This offset the market mood from the 25-bps rate cut that was announced in yesterday's meeting, leading to a mixed trade in international markets. 

Meanwhile, expectations from the top leaders of China and the US on the sidelines of the APEC meeting have kept the investors alert, who await positive developments. 

Asian markets were a mixed bag in Thursday's trade, and Japan's Nikkei 225 was up by 0.10%, the Hang Seng by 0.65%, but Singapore's Straits Times declined by 0.21%. South Korea's KOSPI advanced by 0.90% and the Shanghai Composite was trading flat, marginally rising by 0.06%. 

Wall Street closed on an ambiguous note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 74.37 points, or 0.16%, to 47,632.00, and the S&P 500 falling 0.30 points to 6,890.59. Bucking the trend, the Nasdaq Composite closed 130.98 points, or 0.55%, higher at 23,958.47. 

The Gift Nifty futures index showed resistance to the volatility in the global cues, indicating a good start for the benchmark indices. At 8:20 am, the Gift Nifty index was up by 60 points, or 0.23%, at 26.193.50.

Yesterday, the markets closed on a higher note, with Sensex advancing 368.97 points, or 0.44%, to close at 84,997.13, while the Nifty 50 soared by 117.70 points, or 0.45%, to 26,053.90. 

Stocks in focus: 

Q2 results announcements - ITC, Cipla, NTPC, DLF, Hyundai Motor India, Pidilite Industries, Swiggy, Canara Bank, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Union Bank of India, Aditya Birla Capital, Welspun Corp, Adani Power, Dabur India, Indian Energy Exchange, Lodha Developers, Mphasis, and United Spirits

Bharti Airtel - Nxtra Data Limited, a subsidiary of the company, has agreed to the acquisition of 51,92,000 (35%) equity shares in AMPIN Energy C&I Sixteen Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Power Plant. This was to comply with regulatory requirements for captive power plants. 

Larsen and Toubro - The company reported its Q2 results, with a profit growth of 16% to Rs 3,926 crore, while revenue rose by 10% to Rs 67,984 crore vs Rs 61,555 crore, on a year-on-year basis. Ebitda increased by 7%, while margins fell by 30 bps, to 10%. 

NTPC Energy - The shares rose by 3% in yesterday’s session, as it recorded strong Q2 results, with profits jumping 130.3% to Rs 87.6 crore, compared to last year’s Q2 with Rs 38 crore. Revenue increased by 21.5% to Rs 612.3 crore as well.

Quess Corp - In its Q2 results, the company recorded the highest-ever quarterly Ebitda of ₹77 crore, up by 11% YoY, with a revenue jump of 3% to ₹3,832 crore. The company achieved a net addition of 21,000 staff members in Q2.

Adani Ports - The company clarified in a statement about its price movement, saying that it was purely due to market conditions and absolutely market-driven, and not due to a media report captioned, “Adani entity keen on investing 53k crore in Vadhvan port projects”. It stated that the company has entered into two non-binding Memoranda of understanding (“MOUs”) with the government-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPT). “These MOUs are like an expression of interest, and no binding agreement has been entered into,” read the statement. 

Zydus Wellness - The company has received intimation and a Show Cause Notice from the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence, Surat Zonal Unit, alleging a GST demand of ₹56.33 crores, along with applicable interest and penalty.