Sensex, Nifty to open tad lower; Hindalco, Coal India, IRCTC, Oil India, SAIL, IGL, HDFC shares eyed

The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open lower on Wednesday, tracking negative cues from global equities as investors turned jittery ahead of the U.S. inflation data. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were flashing in red, while Wall Street closed lower overnight as investors turn cautious ahead of inflation data from China and the U.S. Back home, the soft trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a bearish opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 38 points, or 0.22%, lower at 17,502 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8 AM. Among individual stocks, Hindalco Industries, Coal India, Eicher Motors, IRCTC, Oil India, SAIL, and Tata Consumer Products will remain in focus ahead of their quarterly results.

On Monday, the domestic bourses closed near their 4-month high, led by gains in heavyweights HDFC, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries, as well as firm global cues. The BSE Sensex rose 465 points to settle at 58,853, its highest closing level since April 11 this year. Similarly, the broader Nifty added 128 points to end at 17,525. Among the individual stocks, M&M was the top performer, followed by Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, Dr Reddy’s, IndusInd Bank, and Reliance Industries. On the losing side, SBI was the top laggard, falling 1.95%, after the country’s largest lender posted lower than expected earnings in the June quarter.

Stocks to watch

Bharti Airtel: The telecom major’s net consolidated profit zoomed 466.8% to ₹1,607 crore for the April-June period on strong and consistent performance across the portfolio. India's second-largest telecom service provider reported consolidated quarterly revenue of ₹32,805 crore, up 22.2% YoY, including its India business revenue that grew 23.8% to ₹23,319 crore, shows the company's stock exchange filing.

Tata Communications: Shares of the telecom company will be in focus as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has alleged that the Mumbai-headquartered company under-reported gross revenue between 2006-07 to 2017-18 which led to a ₹645 crore lower levy of licence fee during the said period.

Reliance Capital: The company, promoted by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, reported a consolidated net loss of ₹491.40 crore in the quarter ended June 2022, compared to a loss of ₹1,006 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company, which is undergoing insolvency process, saw its total income falling to ₹3,604.39 crore in April-June 2022-23, from ₹4,447.52 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal.

Dish TV India: The direct-to-home firm posted a 63.67% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹17.85 crore in the April-June quarter of FY 23, as against ₹49.14 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The revenue from the operation dropped 16.73% YoY to ₹608.63 crore during the quarter under review.

Indraprastha Gas: The CNG retailer reported a 72% YoY growth in the June quarter net profit at ₹420.86 crore on the back of a rise in sales volume. The state-owned company registered an overall sales volume growth of 48% over the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal, with the average daily sale going up from 5.32 million standard cubic meters to 7.89 mmscmd.

Tata Chemicals: The Tata group company on Tuesday reported an 86.25% growth in consolidated net profit at ₹637 crore during the quarter ending June 2022, compared with ₹342 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations jumped 34.15% to ₹3,995 crore, as against ₹2,978 crore in the same period of last fiscal.

HDFC: The mortgage lender has received approval from the National Housing Bank (NHB) for its merger with subsidiary HDFC Bank. The NHB has also given nod to the merger of two wholly-owned subsidiaries - HDFC Investments and HDFC Holdings Limited - of the housing finance company with HDFC.

Natco Pharma: The drug maker reported a multifold jump in consolidated net profit to ₹320.4 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, as against ₹75 crore in the same period last fiscal. Its consolidated revenue from operations more than doubled to ₹884.6 crore, from ₹410.3 crore in the year-ago period.

MRF: The tyre major reported a 25.35% YoY drop in consolidated profit from continuing operations at ₹123.6 crore in the first quarter ended June, dented by higher raw material cost. The board of the company also approved raising of ₹100 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.

Shriram Transport Finance: The company has announced to raise fixed deposit rates by up to 0.5% across tenors with effect from August 10. As per the company, the new interest rates will apply on deposit tenures between 12-60 months (1-5 years).

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

Wall Street ends lower ahead of inflation data

In the overnight trade, the U.S. stocks closed lower as caution prevailed in the market ahead of the July’s consumer price index data slated to be released later tonight. The rise in inflation data could bolster the case for more aggressive rate hike by the Federal Reserve, soaring investors’ appetite for riskier assets. The S&P 500 index ended 0.4% lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composites settled 1.2% lower after warning by chipmakers Micron and Nvidia.

Asian shares fall

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly lower in early trade on Wednesday, following a negative finish at Wall Street overnight. Investors’ risk appetite remains cautious ahead of tonight’s U.S. inflation data, which will bring more clarity on the Federal Reserve’s future course of action on rate hike.

In the early trade, regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.66%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.8%, and Australia’s ASX 200 dropped marginally lower by 0.07%.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was trading 0.6% lower, while the Taiwan Weighted index slipped 0.5%.

Bucking the trend, the Straits Times in Singapore rose 0.4%. Markets in mainland China were trading mixed, with the Shanghai Composite rising 0.15% and the Shenzhen Component falling by 0.36%.

FIIs remain net buyers, DIIs net sellers

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their gaining streak in the Indian equity market on August 8, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net sellers. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹1,449.70 crore, while DIIs net sold shares worth ₹140.73 crore.

Corporate results

The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings on August 10 include Hindalco Industries, Coal India, Eicher Motors, IRCTC, Oil India, SAIL, and Tata Consumer Products. Among others, Aarti Industries, Abbott India, Arvind Fashions, Ashoka Buildcon, CESC, Cochin Shipyard, Cummins India, Endurance Technologies, General Insurance Corporation of India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Ipca Laboratories, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, ITI, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Jaiprakash Associates, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Medplus Health Services, Metropolis Healthcare, NHPC, Patanjali Foods, Pidilite Industries, PB Fintech, Radico Khaitan, Sadbhav Engineering, and Zydus Lifesciences will also be in focus today.