The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open higher on Thursday, following firm trends across global equities. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly higher, following strong finish on Wall Street overnight as strong earnings and rebound in services PMI data boosted sentiments. Back home, positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 44 points, or 0.25%, higher at 17,483 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:35 AM. Among individual stocks, Adani Enterprises, LIC Housing Finance, Britannia Industries, GAIL India, Dabur India, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Adani Total Gas, and Bharat Heavy Electricals will be in focus ahead of their quarterly earnings.
On Wednesday, the Indian stock market's benchmark indices closed higher for the sixth straight session, led by a surge in buying in IT stocks. The BSE Sensex rose 214 points, or 0.37%, to settle at 58,350 points, and the broader Nifty 50 added 43 points, or 0.25%, to close at 17,388 levels. The IT sector witnessed a surge in buying activities, led by Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, and Wipro. The top gainers in the BSE Sensex pack were Titan, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Power Grid Corporation, HDFC Bank, and Dr Reddy's Laboratories. On the flip side, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, and Nestle India were among top laggards.
Stocks to watch
Vodafone Idea: The telecom major saw its net loss widening to ₹7,296.7 crore for the quarter ended June 2022, against a loss of ₹6,563.1 crore in the previous quarter. Revenue from operations grew marginally by 1.6% on a sequential basis to ₹10,410.10 crore during the quarter under review.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo): India's largest airline’s quarterly net loss narrowed to ₹1,064 crore in Q1 FY23, as compared to loss of ₹3,174.2 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue from operations was the highest ever in Q1 FY23 at ₹12,855.3 crore, up 328% from ₹3,007 crore in the year-ago period.
Adani Wilmar: The FMCG major reported 10.2% YoY growth in consolidated profit at ₹193.59 crore for the June FY23 quarter on higher revenue. During the quarter under review, revenue rose by 30.2% YoY to ₹14,731.62 crore during the same period, and EBITDA increased 14% YoY to ₹496 crore.
Transport Corporation of India Ltd (TCIL): The company earned consolidated revenue of ₹908 crore in Q1 FY23, up 29.7% from ₹700 crore in the same period last year. The consolidated net profit for the quarter stood at ₹78.58 crore, up 66% from ₹47.4 croe in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The company has also lined up ₹300 crore asset acquisition plans for the current financial year, which includes acquiring ships, containers, trucks, and invest in hubs and warehouses.
Inox Leisure: Multiplex chain operator Inox Leisure posted highest ever quarterly revenues of ₹589 crore in Q1 FY23, as well as highest ever EBITDA and profit of ₹130 crore and ₹74 crore, respectively.
Gulf Oil Lubricants India: The company registered a 12.8% quarter-on-quarter fall in consolidated profit at ₹55.23 crore for the quarter ended June 2022. However, revenue grew by 10.5% QoQ to ₹706.45 crore for the June FY23 quarter.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street ends higher on tech boost
In the overnight trade, U.S. stocks ended higher, snapping a two-session losing streak, on the back of strong buying in the IT space and earnings optimism. Investors cheered the U.S. services data which rebounded in July as supply bottlenecks and price pressures eased. The data released by the Institute for Supply Management showed that its non-manufacturing PMI improved to 56.7 points in July, from 55.3 in June, ending three straight monthly declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29%, the S&P 500 gained 1.56%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.59%.
Asian shares rise
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly higher in early trade on Thursday, tracking overnight rally on Wall Street. Investor sentiment was also boosted by strong earnings reports from overseas players.
Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.54%, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.45%, and Australia’s ASX 200 added 02%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was the worst performer in the regional market with a 2% gain, while the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia rose 0.1%.
Markets in mainland China were trading higher, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.75% and 0.5%, respectively.
Bucking the trend, the Straits Times in Singapore fell 0.05% and Taiwan's Weighted index tumbled 0.5%.
Corporate results
The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings today include Adani Enterprises, LIC Housing Finance, Britannia Industries, GAIL India, Dabur India, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Adani Total Gas, Bharat Heavy Electricals, and others. Among others, Aarti Surfactants, Aptech, Balkrishna Industries, Balrampur Chini Mills, BEML, Berger Paints India, Blue Star, Container Corporation of India, Dalmia Bharat, Edelweiss Financial Services, Glenmark Life Sciences, Gujarat State Petronet, ICRA, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Kalyan Jewellers India, Krsnaa Diagnostics, Manappuram Finance, Praj Industries, REC, Shankara Building Products, Spandana Sphoorty Financial, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Ujjivan Financial Services, Welspun Corp, and Windlas Biotech will also be in focus ahead of their earnings report.
Crude oil prices steady
The price of Brent and U.S. crude edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, after falling over 3% in overnight trade after the OPEC+ countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced that it would increase its supply by a mere 100,000 barrels per day. Besides, the data released by the Energy Information Administration showed an increase in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks. In early Asian trading hours, Brent oil for September delivery was up 0.35% at $97.13 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude September futures rose 0.4% to $91.03 a barrel.
FIIs turn net buyers
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the Indian equity market on August 4, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) emerged as net sellers. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹765.17 crore, while DIIs net sold shares worth ₹ 518.42 crore.
