The domestic equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are poised to bell the day in positive terrain on Wednesday, tracking mixed cues from global peers ahead of U.S. inflation data slated to be released tonight. Investors are concerned that a rise in U.S. CPI data may prompt the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates aggressively to curb inflation, which will spur an economic slowdown. The positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 50 points, or 0.3%, higher at 16,110 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:10 AM. On the domestic front, investors will also react to retail inflation and industrial output numbers, which came after market hours on Tuesday. Investors will also track first quarter earnings reports from Mindtree and Tata Metaliks, while rupee-dollar trend, Brent crude oil price, and foreign funds movement will also be on their radar.
On Tuesday, the benchmark indices closed lower for the second day as negative global cues and weakness in the rupee continue to weigh on investors’ sentiments. Investors also remained concerned ahead of the release of retail inflation and factory output data. The BSE Sensex ended 509 points, or 0.94%, lower at 53,887, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 158 points, or 0.97%, to settle at 16,058. The top laggards on the Sensex pack were Infosys, Nestle India, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, M&M, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. In the forex market, the rupee continued its losing spree and declined 15 paise to settle at a new lifetime low of 79.60 against the U.S. dollar on strong demand for the greenback.
Stocks to watch
HCL Tech: Indian IT services provider reported a 2.4% increase in its consolidated net profit at ₹3,283 crore during June quarter of 2022, compared with ₹3,205 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations stood at ₹23,464 crore, up 16.9% year-on-year from ₹20,068 crore.
Eveready Industries: The country’s largest dry cell battery maker has appointed Burman family members to its board. The company has received a nod from its board to appoint Anand Chand Burman, Mohit Burman and Arjun Lamba as non-executive directors (additional directors) with effect from July 12, 2022.
UCO Bank: The state-owned lender has received shareholders' approval to raise equity capital by way of issuing up to 100 crore shares of ₹10 each by way of various capital raising options during the financial year FY23.
New India Assurance Company Ltd (NIACL): The company in an exchange filing said its General Manager Madhulika Bhaskar has been given additional charge as CMD for a period of three months.
Anand Rathi Wealth: The wealth management company on Tuesday reported 33.6% rise in profit after tax at ₹39.7 crore for three months ended June 2022, as against ₹29.7 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Total revenue jumped by 35.7% to ₹133.5 crore in the quarter under review from ₹98.4 crore in the same period last year.
Vodafone Idea (Vi): The telecom major has joined hands with Pariksha to introduce course materials for Agniveer exams that will be conducted by Indian defence forces this year.
NMDC: The state-run miner will be removed from the Nifty CPSE index following its decision to split off its steel subsidiary NMDC Steel.
Adani Enterprises: The Adani group has got a letter of intent (LoI) from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the grant of a unified licence for the Gujarat circle. The pre-qualification of bidders will take place on July 18 and the final list of bidders will be announced on July 20.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street extends fall
In the overnight trade, U.S. stocks ended lower for the second straight session as growing concerns about recession soared investors’ appetite for riskier assets ahead of inflation data due tonight. The consumer prices report from the labor department is expected to show inflation remained elevated in June, which could potentially allow the Federal Reserve to continue its aggressive policy stance and deliver another interest rate increase later this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6% lower, the S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1%.
Asian stocks rebound
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly higher in early deals on Wednesday, undermining weak cues from the U.S. market. However, the renewed fears for global economic slowdown in the face of the Covid-19 resurgence in China and U.S. inflation data, set to be released tonight, limited market gains.
Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.3%, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 0.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7%. The Taiwan Weighted Index was the best performer in the region with a sharp rise of 2.6%.
Bucking the trend, Australia’s ASX 200 traded marginally lower, Singapore’s Straits Times shed 0.4%, and Jakarta Composite in Indonesia dropped 0.3%.
Markets in mainland China were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite falling by 0.35%, while the Shenzhen Component rose by 0.15%.
Crude prices slip below $100
The price of Brent and U.S. crude fell below $100 per barrel in early trade on Wednesday after falling more than 7% in overnight trade as weak demand outlook due to fresh lockdowns in China, fears of a global economic slowdown, and a strong dollar spooked sentiments.
In Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the Brent oil for September delivery rose 0.3% to $99.8 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude August futures were up 0.2% at $96.05 a barrel.
FIIs continue selling spree
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree in the Indian equities on July 12, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended support to the market. As per the exchange data, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹1,565.68 crore, while DIIs offloaded shares worth ₹140.71 crore.
Corporate results
The companies which will release their June quarter earnings on July 12 include Mindtree, Tata Metaliks, Jupiter Industries & Leasing, Gujarat Hotels, International Travel House, Premier Polyfilm, and Ramasigns Industries.
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required field are marked*