Indian benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are expected to begin the new year on a bearish note after a strong finish to 2021. The weak trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-down opening for the Indian equities, with SGX Nifty futures trading 20 points, or 0.11%, lower at 17,417 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:00 AM.
The Indian equities are likely to start the new year 2022 with a cautious stance as rising Omicron cases, both in India and across the world, as well as macroeconomic data announcement to drive the market this week. Investors will keep a close eye on macro data such as monthly auto sales, India manufacturing, and services PMI. Adding to it, movement of foreign institutional investors (FIIs), brent crude and rupee will also set the tone for the domestic market.
On Friday, the Indian share market closed higher, with benchmark Sensex surging 460 points in the last trading session of the year. The BSE Sensex ended 459.5 points, or 0.8%, higher at 58,253, and the NSE Nifty rallied 150 points, or 0.87%, to settle at 17,354. In the calendar year 2021, the Sensex notched a solid gain of 22%, or 10,503 points, touching a new lifetime high of 62,245 on October 19, 2021. The Nifty also rallied 23.8%, or 3,335 points, during the year. Indian luxury products company Titan emerged was the top performer on the BSE Sensex on Friday by surging 3.5%. Some of the other top performers include UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and Maruti Suzuki India, rising between 1.7-2.8%. On the flip side, state-run energy conglomerate NTPC topped the losers’ chart by falling 1.97%. The other notable losers included Tech Mahindra, Power Grid Corporation of India, and Infosys, which settled lower with marginal losses.
Individual stocks that will be in focus on Monday include NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Natco Pharma, Tata Motors, Future Retail, Exide Industries, and auto companies.
Auto companies: Shares of automobiles companies will be in focus today amid monthly sales data announcements.
NTPC: The state-owned power utility company is planning to buy a 5% stake in Power Exchange of India Ltd (PXIL), the country’s first institutionally promoted power trading platform. The PXIL provides innovative and credible electricity trading solutions.
Maruti Suzuki India: The country's largest carmaker has reported a 4% drop in the total wholesales to 1,53,149 units in December 2021, compared to 1,60,226 units in the same period last year.
Hero MotoCorp: The two-wheeler major posted a 12% fall in total sales at 3,94,773 units in December 2021. The company had sold 4,47,335 units in December 2020, the company said in an exchange filing.
Mahindra & Mahindra: The auto major registered a 11% growth in total sales at 39,157 units in December 2021, as against 35,187 units in December 2020.
Natco Pharma: The pharma company said its wholly-owned arm Natco Pharma Inc has completed the acquisition of US-based Dash Pharmaceuticals LLC.
Future Retail: The future group company has missed the due date for payment of ₹3,494.56 crore to banks and lenders. The company said that it missed the deadline as it could not raise funds by selling assets due to ongoing litigation with amazon.
Tata Motors: The homegrown auto company sold 1,99,633 vehicles in the domestic and international market in the December quarter, as against 1,58,218 units in Q3 FY21.
Exide Industries: The company has divested its entire stake in Exide Life Insurance Company by selling shares to HDFC Life Insurance Company.
Here are key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street benchmarks slip on last trading day of 2021
On Wall Street, the major U.S. indices closed lower in the final session for 2021, weighed down by communication services and information technology stocks. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. The NASDAQ Composite ended 0.06% lower as most of the traders remained sidelined on New Year’s Eve.
The U.S. benchmark indices had a terrific 2021, with all the three indices notching monthly, quarterly and annual gains, thanks to low-interest rates and the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. The S&P 500 gained 27% since the last trading day of 2020, while the Dow surged 18.7% for the year. The tech-heavy NASDAQ rallied 21.4% over the last one year.
Most Asian markets shut, Hong Kong slips in opening
Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region remained closed on Monday for public holidays, while Hong Kong stocks retreated in opening trade as investors remain concerned about fast-spreading Omicron cases and suspension of trading of debt-laden China Evergrande Group. Markets in Australia, China, Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand were closed on New Year's Eve.
China Evergrande Group has said its shares will be halted from trading on Monday, without disclosing further details. The cash-strapped real estate major has more than $300 billion in liabilities and is struggling to raise funds to pay debts.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.28% in early trade, while the Straits Times in Singapore rose 0.3%. Taiwan Weighted index also traded 0.3% higher, while South Korea’s KOSPI surged 0.4%.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite was the best performer in the region by rising 0.7%.
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