The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to bell the day in positive terrain on Wednesday, tracking mixed cues from global equities. The positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 42 points, or 0.24%, higher at 17,898 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:10 AM. Investors will keep an eye on foreign funds movement, trend in rupee and crude markets will also impact trading activity in the equity market.
On Tuesday, the domestic bourses closed higher even as global equities were reeling under pressure following reports of weak economic data and lending rate cuts in China which reignited recession fears. The BSE Sensex rose 380 points to close at 59,842 levels and the Nifty too crossed the psychological level of 17,800 to settle at 17,829, up 130 points. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was the top performer after its unit agreed to buy an inland container depot in western India from Navkar Corp Ltd. Among others, HDFC Life, M&M, and Maruti Suzuki were notable gainers. On the sectoral front, auto, oil and gas, and the realty sector were top performers, while PSU bank and media stocks were among notable losers.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Stocks to watch
NTPC: The state-owned power major on Tuesday floated a tender to raise ₹5,000 crore term loan from financial institutions.
Paytm: The company has teamed up with Samsung stores across India to facilitate smart payments as well as its loan service Paytm Postpaid through the deployment of point of sale devices.
Cipla: The pharma major has appointed Ashish Adukia as global chief financial officer and Dinesh Jain relieved from the additional responsibility of interim CFO.
State Bank of India (SBI): The PSU lender has launched its first branch dedicated to startups in Koramangala, Bengaluru.
Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar: State Bank of India has filed an insolvency petition in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar.
Bajaj Electricals: The consumer durable products manufacturer has promoted its Executive Director Anuj Poddar to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Future Consumer Ltd (FCL): The crisis-hit company has defaulted on the payment of ₹51.85 crore towards principal and interest due on non-convertible debentures.
Mahanagar Gas: The natural gas distribution company on Tuesday cut the prices of kitchen fuel Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and automobile fuel Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), following an increase in allocation of domestically produced natural gas from the government.
Future Lifestyle Fashions: The company has reported a widening of its consolidated net loss to ₹1,879.91 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2022 due to closure of stores and higher expenses. It had posted a consolidated net loss of ₹149 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago.
Dairy stocks: Shares of dairy companies will be in focus after major milk brands Amul and Mother Dairy announced to raise their milk prices by ₹2 per litre from Wednesday to offset the increase in procurement costs.
Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp and Tata Chemicals: These stocks will be under the NSE F&O ban list today as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.
Wall Street ends mostly higher
In the overnight trade, the U.S. stocks closed mixed in volatile trade, with S&P 500 index and Dow Jones settling higher, while tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended lower. The looming fear about recession and persisted concern that the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive rate hike programme despite ease in inflation weighed on market sentiments. The S&P 500 index ended 0.19% higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.71%, and the Nasdaq Composites settled 0.19% lower.
Asian shares mixed
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed in early trade on Wednesday, following subdued cues from Wall Street. The regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6%.
The Straits Times in Singapore added 0.35%, Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.13%, and Australia’s ASX 200 was trading flat.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong tumbled 0.1%, while the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia gained 0.6%.
Markets in mainland China were trading lower, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component falling between 0.2% to 0.4%.
Crude prices steady
The crude prices were steady in early trade on Wednesday after falling more than 3% in overnight trade as recession worries raised uncertainty over global fuel demand. Investors kept a close eye on ongoing talks to revive a deal that could allow more Iranian oil exports. In Asian trading hours, the Brent oil for October delivery was up 0.4% at $92.75 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude September futures rose by 0.57% to $87 a barrel.
FIIs remain net buyers, DIIs net sellers
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their gaining streak in the Indian equity market on August 16, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net sellers. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹1,376.84 crore, while DIIs net sold shares worth ₹136.24 crore.
Corporate results
The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings include Bharti Airtel Power Grid Corporation of India, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, NALCO, and Astrazeneca Pharma India. Among others, Chemcon Speciality Chemicals, City Union Bank, Delhivery, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, Housing & Urban Development Corporation, JK Tyre & Industries, Jaypee Infratech, Vedant Fashions, Samvardhana Motherson International, Sequent Scientific, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Subex, Torrent Power, and Whirlpool of India will also be in focus today.
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