Indian benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are poised for a subdued start on Tuesday amid an absence of strong global cues after the World Bank cut global growth forecast for 2022 due to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The muted trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a flat opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 14 points, or 0.08%, higher at 17,250 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:00 AM.
On Monday, the domestic equities ended sharply lower amid disappointing quarterly earnings and weak global cues, eroding investors’ wealth over ₹2.36 lakh crore. The market sentiment was dented by strong selling in index heavyweights Infosys and HDFC Bank following their lower-than-expected results. Extending losses for the fourth straight session, the BSE Sensex ended 1,172 points or 2.01% lower at 57,166, while the NSE Nifty plunged 302 points or 1.73% to 17,173. Infosys was the top loser in the Sensex pack, followed by HDFC Bank, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS and HCL Tech, among others. Among BSE sectoral indices, IT declined the most by 4.76%, followed by teck (4.60%), finance (2.12%) and telecom (1.77%).
Stocks to focus
Mindtree: The mid-cap IT services company Mindtree posted a 49.1% year-on-year increase in net profit at ₹473.1 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. It registered 37.4% growth in revenue on an annual basis at ₹2,897.4 crore for the quarter under review, compared to ₹2,109.3 crore a year ago.
L&T Infotech: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is reportedly mulling merging its IT services business units — L&T Infotech (LTI) and Mindtree. However, Mindtree in its post-earning call said that the news is pure rumor and it wouldn’t respond to speculation.
Manappuram Finance: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has levied a fine of over ₹17 lakh on non-banking finance company for violating KYC guidelines and rules related to prepaid payment instruments.
Sanofi India: The company informed the exchange that its board has appointed Rodolfo Hrosz as the new managing director with effect from June 1, 2022, subject to regulatory approvals. He is currently working as Sanofi’s General Manager, Consumer Healthcare business in Brazil.
Wipro: The IT major has appointed Satya Easwaran, a former senior executive at consultancy KPMG, as its India head. Easwaran will help in strengthening Wipro's business in India across key industry sectors through strategic consulting, transformation and modernisation engagements, the company said in a release.
Indiabulls Real Estate: The company has said it will utilise ₹865 crore raised through QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement) mainly for land acquisition and debt reduction.
Tata Power: The Tata group company is under the F&O ban today as the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
U.S. stocks extend fall
On Wall Street, all three major U.S. indices extended losing streak on Monday as Treasury yields surged amid looming prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Investors also weighed the sharp cut to global growth expectations from the World Bank in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, a robust earnings report by Bank of America eased some concern, as investors eyed more earnings reports from major companies this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.11% lower in choppy trade, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14%.
Asian stocks trade mostly higher
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region traded higher in opening trade on Tuesday, barring Hong Kong, as market sentiment was boosted after China’s central bank announced financial support for pandemic-hit sectors.
Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.9%, and the Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 0.8%. In a similar trend, Taiwan’s Weighted index surged 1%, Australia’s ASX 200 index rose 0.6% and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite gained 0.3%.
In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component and the Shanghai Composite traded flat as investors remained concerned about Covid-19 situation in the country.
Oil prices rise on supply concerns
The price of Brent and U.S. crude oil rose more than 1% in overnight trade on Monday as outages in Libya further impacted already tight global supply amid Russia-Ukraine war. Brent crude surged 1.3% to settle at $113.16 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.2% to $108.21 per barrel.
During the early trading hours on Tuesday, the Brent oil for June delivery were up 0.24% to $113.43 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded flat at $107.62 a barrel.
Meanwhile, petrol and diesel prices have been kept unchanged for the thirteenth day in a row on Tuesday, after several hikes in the last one month. The domestic oil companies have raised fuel rates by ₹10 per litre since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22, when the results of five Assembly polls were announced.
FIIs remain net sellers, DIIs net buyers
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the Indian equity market on April 18, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to support the market. As per the exchange data, FIIs offloaded shares worth ₹6,387.45 crore, while DIIs net purchased shares worth ₹3,341.96 crore.
Corporate earnings
Cement major ACC, IT services firms Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Mastek will release their earnings report today. Among others, Tata Steel Long Products, PCBL, Benares Hotels, Godavari Drugs, and Longview Tea Company will also unveil their quarterly results today.
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