Sensex, Nifty to open higher ahead of RBI’s policy; Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Hindalco shares in focus

Indian equity benchmarks are expected to open higher on Thursday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy outcome today. The firm cues from global peers and positive trends on the SGX Nifty futures also signalled a gap-up opening for domestic bourses. At 7:00 AM, the Nifty futures were trading 40 points, or 0.23%, higher at 17,524 on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Investors will keep an eye on the Reserve Bank of India’s policy outlook as they feared that policymakers may take note of rising Brent crude prices that hit $95 a barrel last week, raising inflationary concerns. Interest rate sensitive stocks such as auto, banking and realty will be in focus ahead of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee decision.

On Wednesday, the domestic benchmarks closed higher for the second straight session as correction in oil prices and bond yields prompted investors to shift focus to riskier assets. Extending rally for the second session, the BSE Sensex closed 657 points, or 1.14%, higher at 58,466, and the NSE Nifty rose 197 points, or 1.14%, to settle at 17,464. In a similar trend, the broader markets also ended higher. The S&P BSE Midcap index rose 1.23%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index gained 0.57%. The top five gainers on the BSE Sensex pack were Maruti Suzuki India, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Titan Company.

Shares to focus

NHPC: The state-owned company has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL) to build renewable energy projects of 10,000 MW in Rajasthan.

Prestige Estates: The realty company reported a 59% YoY rise in its consolidated net profit at ₹93.3 crore for the quarter ended December. Total income of Bengaluru-based company declined to ₹1,396 crore, from ₹1,928.2 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Essar Shipping: The company has posted a consolidated net loss of ₹5.59 crore for the quarter ended December 2021, compared to loss of ₹181.88 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Its total income from operations slipped to ₹93.72 crore, against ₹103.02 crore in the year-ago period.

GE Power India: The firm reported a consolidated net loss of ₹34.12 crore for the quarter ended December 2021, compared to net profit of ₹35.09 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The total income fell to ₹798.29 crore, as against ₹1,143.13 crore in the same period last year.

SAIL: The steel maker has posted 4.1% growth in consolidated net profit at ₹1,528.54 crore for the October-December period of the current fiscal, against net profit of ₹1,468.20 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated income increased to ₹25,398.37 crore, from ₹19,997.31 crore earlier.

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL): The country’s largest power transmission company has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,293 crore, down 2.2% from Rs 3,368 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The company also declared a second interim dividend for the financial year 2021-22 at Rs. 5.50 a share, which will be paid on March 9, 2022.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: The drug maker in partnership with Canadian pharmaceutical company SaNOtize Research & Development Corp on Wednesday announced the launch of its nitric oxide nasal spray under the brand name FabiSpray in India.

Vedanta: The metal and mining company has dismissed the plans to rejig its corporate structure, after completing its reorganisation review.

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

U.S. stocks end sharply higher

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices closed sharply higher on Wednesday, driven by rally in growth-driven technology stocks and robust earnings report. The correction in the U.S. treasury yields also boosted demand for equities ahead of the consumer price data slated to be released on Thursday for clues on the Federal Reserve's outlook on interest rate hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.9% higher, the S&P 500 surged 1.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite settled 2.1% higher.

Asian shares trade flat in early deals

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly higher in early trade on Thursday, mirroring strong finish at Wall Street overnight.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.15% in early deals, while Australia’s ASX 200 index added 0.2%.

The Straits Times in Singapore fell 0.17%, while South Korea’s KOSPI edged lower in early deals.

Corporate earnings

The big players that will release their December quarter earnings reports today include Alembic Pharmaceuticals, BEML, Bharat Forge, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco Industries, Zomato, Amara Raja Batteries, Zee Media Corporation, and others.

Among others, ABB India, Aegis Logistics, Computer Age Management Services, Cummins India, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Gujarat State Petronet, Hindustan Aeronautics, IRB Infrastructure Developers, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Lal PathLabs, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, MRF, MTAR Technologies, Novartis India, Page Industries, Quess Corp, Reliance Power, SJVN, Speciality Restaurants, Strides Pharma Science, Sundram Fasteners, Sunteck Realty, Sun TV Network, Tata Chemicals, Trent, Titagarh Wagons, Welspun Corp, Whirlpool of India, and West Coast Paper Mills, will also release their earnings report on February 10.

FIIs remain net sellers, DIIs turn net buyers

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the Indian equity market on February 9, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) emerged as net buyers. As per the data available on the NSE, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹892.6 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth ₹1,793.3 crore in domestic equity market.