The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open sharply lower on Wednesday, tracking weak cues from Asia and New York. Asian shares started the day on a weak note, following a negative finish on Wall Street overnight as strong U.S. services data raised fear that the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates to curb inflation. The negative trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a bearish opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 192 points, 1.09%, lower at 17,474 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 7:50 AM.
On Tuesday, the Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally lower in volatile trade amid spurt in selling in FMCG, IT and banking stocks in the final hour of trade. The BSE Sensex opened higher and rose as much as 320 points in intraday trade, before closing 49 points lower at 59,197 levels. During the session, it hit a high of 59,567 and a low of 58,974. The NSE Nifty also closed lower, down 10 points to 17,656. In the Sensex pack, the worst performing stocks were Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, and Nestle. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, and Power Grid were among the notable gainers.
Stocks to watch
IDBI Bank: The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and the central government are likely to offload their stake in the lender. As per report, Expression of Interest (EoI) for the divestment process will be invited by October.
Wipro: The IT major has entered into a pact with Palo Alto Networks to deliver managed security and network transformation solutions like SASE (secure access service edge), cloud security and next-generation SOC (security operations center) solutions based on Zero Trust principles for global enterprises.
Dreamfolks Services: Mirae Asset India Small-Midcap Focus Equity Master Investment Trust has acquired 3,03,446 equity shares in the newly listed company via open market transactions at an average price of ₹471.51 per share.
InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo): The airline has appointed Petrus Elbers joins as Chief Executive Officer with effect from September 6.
HDFC Bank: The private sector bank on Tuesday sold additional tier-1 bonds worth ₹3,000 crore at a cut-off rate of 7.84%.
Canara Bank: The PSU bank has hiked the benchmark MCLR by up to 0.15%. The benchmark one-year MCLR was raised to 7.75% from 7.65% earlier.
Astral: The plastics pipe manufacturer has received a nod from NCLT for the amalgamation of its subsidiaries Resinova Chemie and Astral Biochem with itself. The scheme of amalgamation will be effective from September 6.
Salasar Techno Engineering: The company’s fundraising committee of the board has approved the allotment of 3 crore equity shares to QIBs at a price of ₹27.30 per share.
Zuari Industries: The company has inked a pact with Envien International, Malta and Zuari Envien Bioenergy, to build and operate a biofuel distillery.
Suzlon Energy: The renewable energy solution provider has bagged an order to set up a 180.6 MW wind energy project from Sembcorp's arm Green Infra Wind Energy.
Delta Corp: The company will be under the NSE F&O ban on Wednesday.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street ends lower
In the overnight trade, the U.S. stock settled in negative terrain as fresh economic data continues to raise concerns about the health of the world’s largest economy and its potential to cope with higher interest rates. A survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed the U.S. services industry rose for the second straight month in August, which triggered fear in the market that the Federal Reserve would keep raising interest rates to contain inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, the S&P 500 shed 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite ended 0.7% lower.
Asian shares tumble
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were flashing in red, barring China, in opening trade on Wednesday, following negative cues from the U.S. markets. Concerns over the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on China's economy also injected negativity in the market.
Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1%, South Korea’s Kospi plunged 1.5%, and Australia's ASX 200 index tumbled 1.1%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was the worst performer in the region with a 1.6% loss, while the Straits Times in Singapore dropped 0.6%. Similarly, Taiwan Weighted index dived 1.4% and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite was trading flat.
Markets in mainland China were trading higher, with the Shanghai Composite rising by 0.05%, while the Shenzhen Component climbed 0.7%.
FIIs, DIIs turn net buyers
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as well as domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers in the Indian equity market on September 6. As per the exchange data, FIIs net brought shares worth ₹1,144.53 crore, while DIIs net purchased stocks worth ₹632.97 crore.
Crude prices fall on demand concerns
Brent and U.S. crude fell over 1% in early trade on Wednesday as fear of weak demand outlook coupled with the growing prospect of more interest rate hikes dragged the prices lower. OPEC's decision to lower the output target cut failed to lift sentiments. In a meeting on Monday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to reduce output for October by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), amounting to only 0.1% of global demand.
In early Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the Brent oil for November delivery was down 1.16% at $91.75 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude October futures fell 1.5% to $85.6 a barrel.
