Sensex, Nifty to rise; RIL, Titan, IndusInd Bank, SpiceJet, TVS Motors, Piramal shares in focus

The domestic benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are poised to open higher on Thursday, following mixed cues from Asian stocks and positive finish on Wall Street overnight. The firm trading on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 125 points, or 0.78%, higher at 16,107 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:10 AM. The easing crude prices and trend reversal by foreign investors, who turned net buyers after a gap of two months, may extend support to the market. The Reserve Bank of India has announced a slew of measures to diversify and expand the sources of forex funding in order to mitigate volatility and dampen global spillovers.

On Wednesday, the Indian share market ended 1% higher, supported by buying across FMCG, financials, and auto stocks. The sharp correction in international crude oil prices and buying by foreign investors, which turned net buyers of domestic equities after a long gap, also lifted market sentiments. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 617 points, or 1.16%, to settle at 53,751, with 25 of its shares ending in the green. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 179 points, or 1.13%, to 15,990 levels. The top gainers on the Sensex pack were Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Nestle India. Among the sectors, barring metal and energy, all indices closed in positive terrain, while auto, consumer discretionary goods & services, FMCG, consumer durables, and realty were among the top performers, rising over 2%.

Stocks to watch

Reliance Industries: The retail arm of the RIL, Reliance Retail, has entered into a franchise agreement with Gap Inc to bring the American fashion brand to India.

Titan Company: The Tata Group company has reported nearly three-fold growth in its first quarter sales on a yearly basis on account of a low base effect as the corresponding period of the last year was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

IndusInd Bank: The private lender has entered into a partnership with MoEngage, the insights-led customer engagement platform, to deliver a 'Gen Z' digital banking experience to its customers.

Piramal Enterprises: Ajay Piramal-owned company has received its shareholders’ nod to demerge its pharmaceuticals business and simplify the corporate structure.

TVS Motor Company: The auto company has ventured into the premium lifestyle business by launching the industry-first 'modern-retro' motorcycle, the TVS RONIN.

SpiceJet: The low-cost carrier has received a show-cause notice from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its failure to establish ‘safe, efficient and reliable services’.

Titagarh Wagons: HDFC Asset Management Company has offloaded 2.15% shares in the company via open market transactions, bringing down its shareholding in the firm to 7.02 %, from 9.17% earlier.

Deep Industries: The energy company has bagged an order worth $19.02 million or ₹150.24 crore from ONGC, for charter hiring of 1,000 HP mobile drilling rigs for Ahmedabad asset for a period of 3 years.

City Union Bank: The bank has received its board approval for raising capital through the QIP route to the tune of ₹500 crore subject to shareholder approval.

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

Wall Street ends higher

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices closed higher as investors absorbed the Federal Reserve's firm stance to curb inflation even if it impacts economic growth. The minutes from the last Fed meeting revealed that the U.S. central bank was compelled to take aggressive policy measures to control stubborn inflation, which touched four-decade high in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.23% higher, the S&P rose 0.36%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.35%.

Asian shares mixed

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed in early trade on Tuesday as U.S. Futures fell after the Federal Bank’s minutes indicated that the central bank would continue its tighter policy stance to tame rising cost pressure.

Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.8%, South Korea’s KOSPI rallied 1.7%, and the ASX 200 index in Australia gained 0.3%. Similarly, Taiwan Weighted index added 1.2% and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite climbed 0.3%.

Bucking the trend, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1%, and the Straits Times Index in Singapore dropped 0.15%.

In mainland China, shares were trading on a mixed note, with Shenzhen Component rising 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%.

Oil prices hover around $100

The price of Brent and U.S. crude struggled to stay above $US100 a barrel in early Asian hour trade on Thursday amid persistent concerns potential global slowdown and fresh Covid-19 restriction in China, one of the world’s largest oil consumers, would impact demand outlook.

In Asian trading hours, the Brent oil for September delivery was trading 0.7% lower at $99.9 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude August futures were quoting at $97.9 a barrel, down 0.7%.

FIIs resume selling spree

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) resumed selling spree after a day of buying, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended their support to the market. As per the exchange data, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹330.13 crore on July 6, which was compensated by ₹1,464.33 crore equity purchase by the DIIs.