The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open in positive terrain on Wednesday, following mixed overseas cues. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly higher, while Wall Street finished lower overnight as uncertainty about future economic growth and escalating U.S.-China tensions dented market sentiment.
Back home, positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 50 points, or 0.29%, higher at 17,376 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 7:40 AM. Traders will keep an eye on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meeting, which is scheduled to start today. On the corporate front, IndiGo, Vodafone Idea, Lupin, Adani Power, Godrej Consumer Products, Adani Transmission, Adani Wilmar will be in focus ahead of their quarterly results.
Extending its winning streak for the fifth straight session, the Indian benchmarks closed marginally higher on Tuesday, led by power, auto and energy stocks. The domestic bourses traded mostly in negative terrain, following weak cues from global peers, but recovered smartly in the final hour of day’s trade to end tad higher.
The BSE Sensex settled 21 points, or 0.04%, higher at 58,136, rebounding 583 points from the day’s low. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty ended at 17,345, up 5 points as 24 of its stocks advanced. During the session, it touched a high of 17,390 points and a low of 17,216 amid volatility. Among Sensex constituents, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, NTPC, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Power Grid were top gainers. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, and HDFC Bank were the biggest laggards.
Stocks to watch
Adani Green Energy: The Adani group company reported a 2.3% YoY fall in consolidated profit at ₹214 crore for the quarter ended June 2022, weighed down by lower other income and forex loss. Revenue, however, rose 58% YoY to ₹1,701 crore during the quarter under review.
Aurobindo Pharma: The drug makers API non-antibiotic manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh has received a 'Form 483' with 3 observations from the U.S. drug regulator. As per the company, none of these observations is related to data integrity.
Jubilant Pharmova: The U.S. drug regulator FDA has issued six observations to the company's solid dosage manufacturing facility at the Roorkee plant.
ITC: The diversified business conglomerate has exited its lifestyle retailing business following a strategic review of its business portfolio.
Adani Enterprises: Adani Data Networks Ltd (ADNL), the digital connectivity solutions arm of the Adani group, has secured this spectrum for 20 years in the first ever 5G spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecommunications.
Bank of India: The public sector lender’s net profit dropped 22% YoY to ₹561 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2022-23 (Q1FY23) on rise in provisions for bad loans. The net interest income (NII) rose 29.4% YoY to ₹4,072 YoY, while net interest margin (NIM) improved to 2.55% from 2.16% a year ago.
Godrej Properties: The real estate company’s June quarter consolidated net profit nearly tripled to ₹45.55 crore on yearly basis, while sales bookings surged five times to ₹2,520 crore. The company also informed that its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohit Malhotra has resigned with effect from December 31 this year. Gaurav Pandey will become the new MD and CEO from January 1 next year.
GMR Infra: European plane manufacturer Airbus has inked a deal with the GMR Group to provide aircraft maintenance training to young engineers. As per the joint statement issued by the companies, the GMR Group will provide the fully integrated aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) licensing programme at the GMR School of Aviation in Hyderabad.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street falls on U.S.-China tension
In the overnight trade, the major U.S. indices ended lower as uncertainty about future economic growth and escalating U.S.-China tensions dented market sentiment. The arrival of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory, has increased tensions between the world's two superpowers. On the economic front, a data from the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell by 5.4% in June, indicating the fragile situation of the job market in the world’s largest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 shed 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2%.
Asian shares mixed
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed in early trade on Wednesday, following weak cues from Wall Street, as heightened tensions between the U.S. and China have spooked investors’ sentiments. China has warned that it will launch a series of military exercises in waters around Taiwan on Wednesday, including "long-range live ammunition shooting" in the Taiwan Strait. This military exercise was announced after the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her visit to Taipei that Beijing claims its territory.
Markets in mainland China were trading higher, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.7% each. Taiwan's Weighted index was down 0.3% in early trade.
Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5%, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.8%.
Bucking the trend, Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.5%, and the Straits Times in Singapore traded marginally lower.
Crude oil prices steady
The price of Brent and U.S. crude edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, hovering around $100 per barrel, as uncertainty about global economic growth and demand outlook weighed on market sentiments. In early Asian trading hours, Brent oil for September delivery was up 0.12% at $100.66 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude September futures rose 0.26% to $94.67 a barrel.
Corporate results
The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings today include InterGlobe Aviation, Vodafone Idea, Lupin, Adani Power, Godrej Consumer Products, Adani Transmission, Adani Wilmar, and others. Among others, Aditya Birla Capital, BASF India, Birlasoft, Chambal Fertilisers, Devyani International, Firstsource Solutions, Gujarat Gas, Inox Leisure, KEC International, Paras Defence and Space Technologies, PI Industries, Sandhar Technologies, Satin Creditcare Network, Speciality Restaurants, Tata Coffee, and Zuari Agro Chemicals will also be in focus ahead of their earnings report.
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 August 3. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹825.18 crore, while DIIs net brought shares worth ₹117.79 crore.
