The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open flat to higher on Friday, tracking muted cues from global equities. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed, following a subdued closing on Wall Street overnight. Back home, the muted trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a flat opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 10 points, or 0.06%, higher at 17,700 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:20 AM. On the macro front, investors will keep an eye on the June consumer price index (CPI) and July PMI data, which are slated to be released today. Among individual stocks, LIC of India, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, Grasim Industries, Divis Labs, Godrej Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics, Campus Activewear, and Zee Entertainment, will be in focus ahead of their quarterly earnings.

On Thursday, the Indian equities ended higher as ease in inflation in the U.S. boosted demand for riskier assets amid the hope that the Federal Reserve may go slow on its rate hike plan. The U.S. retail inflation for July fell to 8.5%, from a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. The BSE Sensex rose 515 points, or 0.88%, to settle at 59,332, and the Nifty50 gained 124 points, or 0.71%, to 17,659 levels. The top gainers on the Sensex pack were Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Tech M, Bajaj Finance, SBI, and Wipro. On the losing side, Tata Consumer Products, Apollo Hospitals, ITC, NTPC, Airtel, and HUL topped the chart. On the sectoral front, bankex and IT indices were top performer with a gain of 1.6% each, while FMCG and metal space declined the most.

Stocks to watch

Jet Airways: The defunct airline has reported a standalone net loss of ₹390.1 crore for the three months ended June 2022, as compared to a loss of ₹129 crore in the same period last year. The revenue from operations dropped 83% YoY to ₹12.53 crore for the quarter under review.

Adani Enterprises: The Adani Group has proposed to invest ₹57,575 crore in Odisha to set up two projects – a 4 MMTPA Integrated Alumina Refinery and a 30 MMTPA Iron Ore (Value Addition) plant. The proposal has been approved by the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) of the Odisha government, headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Aurobindo Pharma: The Pharmaceutical company has posted a consolidated net profit of ₹520.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, down 32.4% from ₹770 in the first quarter of the last fiscal. Revenues from operations rose 9.4% to ₹6,236 crore during the quarter under discussion compared to ₹5,702 crore a year ago.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise: The healthcare chain saw its consolidated net profit declining by 35.33% YoY to ₹323.78 crore in the first quarter of FY23, due to higher expenses and marginal revenue growth. Consolidated revenue from operations increased marginally to ₹3,795.6 crore, as against ₹3,760.21 crore in the year-ago period.

Godrej Properties: The real estate major is planning to launch a new luxury housing project in Delhi's Ashok Vihar this year, which is expected to generate about ₹8,000 crore sales revenue, as per its executive chairman Pirojsha Godrej.

Page Industries: The apparel manufacturer, which owns the exclusive licensee of JOCKEY International, registered a multi-fold growth in its net profit at ₹207.03 crore for the first quarter ended June 2022, as against ₹10.94 crore during the corresponding period a year ago. Its revenue from operations during the quarter stood at ₹1,341.26 crore, up over two-fold compared to a lower base of the pandemic-impacted Q1 FY22.

Bata India: The footwear retailer posted a 71.82% rise in consolidated net profit at ₹119.37 crore for the first quarter of FY23, versus ₹69.47 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago. Its revenue from operations jumped over three-fold to ₹943.01 crore, from ₹267.04 crore in the Covid-hit last quarter of FY22.

Oil India Ltd (OIL): The country’s second-largest oil explorer reported three times growth in its net profit at ₹1,555.46 crore in Q1 FY23, compared to ₹507.94 crore in the same period a year back, driven by higher oil and gas price realisation.

Bharat Forge: The auto components maker has reported a consolidated net profit of ₹160.37 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2022, versus ₹152.75 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Its consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹2,851.46 crore, as compared to ₹2,107.68 crore in the year-ago period.

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy: The construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji and Company has announced to sell its 1.25% stake in the green energy company. The floor price of the offer for sale has been fixed at ₹270 per equity share of the company.

Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp: Both these companies will be under NSE F&O ban today as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:

Wall Street ends on soft note

In the overnight trade, the U.S. stocks closed mixed after a strong rally in the previous session as market experts cautioned that it was too early to cheer inflation figures, which might soften concerns about aggressive rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month. The Labor Department data on Wednesday showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed to 8.5% in July after hitting a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6%.

Asian shares mixed

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed in early trade on Friday, following soft closing at Wall Street overnight as investors digested U.S. and China inflation figures. In the previous session, the market reacted positively to U.S. inflation data that eased in July, but gains were revered today on concerns the market may have overreacted to retail inflation figures.

Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the best performer in the regional market with a 2.4% gain, while South Korea’s Kospi and Thailand’s SET Composite rose 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Taiwan Weighted index also added 0.35%.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.15%, Singapore’s Straits Times shed 1.05%, and Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.6%. The Jakarta Composite in Indonesia was also down 0.2%.

Markets in mainland China were trading flat, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component trading near baseline.

FIIs extend buying spree, DIIs remain net sellers

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying spree in the Indian equity market on August 11, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continue to remain net sellers. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹2,298.08 crore, while DIIs net sold stocks worth ₹729.56 crore.

Corporate results

There will be a surge in earnings reports as more than 700 companies will release their June quarter results today. The list includes big players such as LIC of India, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, Grasim Industries, Divis Labs, and Zee Entertainment. Among others, Aegis Logistics, Ahluwalia Contracts, Apollo Tyres, Astral, Bajaj Electricals, Bajaj Healthcare, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Balaji Amines, Bharat Dynamics, Campus Activewear, Dilip Buildcon, Dhani Services, Finolex Cables, Godrej Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics, Indiabulls Real Estate, India Cements, Kolte-Patil Developers, Muthoot Finance, Info Edge India, Power Finance Corporation, SJVN, Sun TV Network, Supriya Lifescience, Timken India, Varroc Engineering, Voltamp Transformers, and Wockhardt will also be in focus on August 12.

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