Sensex, Nifty to open flat; Adani Power, Biocon, YES Bank, NTPC, Marico shares eyed

The Indian equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are expected to see a subdued opening on Wednesday, following weak cues from Asian peers and a mixed finish on Wall Street overnight. The muted trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a flat opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 33 points, or 0.21%, higher at 15,800 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:05 AM. Investors will keep a close eye on crude price movement that plunged more than 9% overnight, as well as foreign institutional investments, which turned net buyers for the first time after two months.

On Tuesday, the Indian share market pared intraday gains to end marginally lower as weak cues from European markets triggered a sell-off in the final hours of day’s trade. The BSE Sensex index ended 100 points, or 0.19%, lower at 53,134 levels, after rising as much as 631 points in intraday trade. The broader NSE Nifty also pared early gains to close 24 points, or 0.15%, down at 15,811. Among Sensex packs, ITC fell the most by 1.73%, followed by Wipro (1.58%), M&M (1.2%), L&T (1.12%), Maruti (1.1%), and IndusInd Bank (0.98%). Among the BSE sectoral indices, Information Technology declined the most, followed by teck, bank, auto, realty, and telecom.

Stocks to watch

Adani Power: The Adani Group firm would seek shareholders’ approval for the proposed related-party transaction worth up to ₹5,000 crore during its annual general meeting (AGM), to be held on July 27.

Biocon: The biopharma company’s subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, has received an EU GMP certificate from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), Ireland, for its new monoclonal antibodies drug substance manufacturing facility at Bengaluru.

YES Bank: The private sector bank has reported 14% growth in loans and advances to ₹1,86,598 crore during June 2022, from ₹1,63,654 crore at the end of June 2021.

NTPC: The state-owned power company has registered 61% growth in its coal output to 42.40 lakh MT in April-June quarter, from 26.40 lakh MT in the same period a year ago.

PSU banks: The state-owned lenders, including State Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Bank of Baroda are reportedly planning to raise around ₹7,500 crore through additional tier I bonds.

Marico: The FMCG major’s India business volumes slipped to mid-single digits in first quarter of FY23, weighed down by a fall in demand for Saffola oils and Parachute coconut oil.

Rama Steel Tubes: The company has received its board approval for the sub-division of equity shares of face value of ₹5 each into equity shares of face value of ₹1 each at the record date.

J Kumar Infraprojects: The company has bagged a contract worth ₹571.01 crore from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), for design, build, and commissioning of priority sewer tunnel-Phase I from Don Bosco to New Malad IPS with segment lining method in Mumbai.

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

Wall Street ends higher

Extending gains for the second straight session, U.S. stocks ended marginally higher on Tuesday as investors remained focused on the growth trajectory of the world’s largest economy. An atmosphere of caution prevailed in the market ahead of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in June on Wednesday for more clarity on future rate hike timings. Investors also kept a close eye on June nonfarm payrolls due on Friday and earnings season to gauge the health of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 index gained 0.16%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.75%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.42%.

Asian stocks fall

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region mostly traded lower in early deals on Wednesday, tracking a mixed finish on Wall Street overnight. The concerns about economic uncertainty and aggressive rate hike to tame rising inflation also weighed on investors’ sentiments.

Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% in early trade, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong shed 0.7%.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.9%, Taiwan Weighted index fell nearly 1%, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore rose 0.1%. Australia’s ASX 200 also dropped 0.4%.

Markets in mainland China also witnessed selling pressure in early trade, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component falling 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.

Crude prices fall sharply overnight

The price of Brent and U.S. crude tumbled more than 9% in overnight trade amid fears of a global recession and lockdowns in China that could dent demand. The looming fear of recession undermines supply shortage concerns amid a strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers. The Brent crude futures dived 9.5% and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 8.2%, registering their biggest daily percentage loss since March 9, 2022.

Meanwhile, in Asian trading hours, the Brent oil for September delivery rose 1.7% to $104.5 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude August futures were up 1.35% at $100.9 a barrel.

FIIs turn net buyers, DIIs net sellers

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) emerged as net buyers for the first time since May 30, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers for the first time since April 11, showed data released on June 5. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹1,295.84 crore, while DIIs net sold shares worth ₹257.59 crore.