PremiumU.S. December payroll data and minutes from the Fed’s meeting last month may throw more light this week on the potential pace of rate hikes. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he supports two rate increases this year to counter risks posed by inflation
Indian equities closed higher for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, led by gains in auto, bank, metal, realty and oil & gas stocks. IT stocks, however, fell, limiting the upside.
The Sensex rose 367.22 points, or 0.61%, to close the day at 60,223.15, while Nifty was up 120 points at 17,925.30.
On the Nifty, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel and Grasim Industries were among the top gainers, while Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Divis Labs and Wipro fell the most.
Except IT, pharma and power, all other sectoral indices ended higher with auto, bank, metal, realty and oil & gas indices up 1-2%.
Broader markets were mixed, with the BSE MidCap index up 0.36% and SmallCap index ending flat.
India VIX rose 6.87% to 17.23.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside an order of the Mumbai bench of NCLT approving Anil Aggarwal-led Twin Star Technologies' bid for Videocon Group.
A two-member bench of Jarat Kumar Jain and Ashok Kumar Mishra said the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have not been complied with during the corporate insolvency resolution process of Videocon Group.
"In view of the analysis of facts and law, we have come to the conclusion that section ... of the code (IBC) has not been complied with. Hence the approval of the resolution plan is not in accordance with section 31 of the code. Accordingly, the approval of the resolution of the plan by CoC as well as the designated authority (NCLT) is set aside.
Europe's main stock markets opened mixed Wednesday after Asia and Wall Street grappled with elevated inflation and expected interest rate hikes amid easing Omicron virus fears.
In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid almost 0.3% to 7,486.73 points compared with the closing level on Tuesday.
On the upside in the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX index climbed 0.2% to 16,177.89 points and the Paris CAC 40 also rose 0.2% to 7,331.75.
India's economic growth and its recovery may take a hit in the ongoing quarter as the country witnesses a resurgence in covid-19 cases and states resort to fresh restrictions, according to a report by HDFC Bank.
The bank, in its report, said there is a downside risk to its growth forecast to the tune of 20-30 basis points. Its current forecast for the January-March quarter is 6.1%
The report said the downside risks emanate from additional states imposing restrictions, and the curbs extending beyond January 2022. Further, a slowdown in global recovery will weigh on India's exports.
Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited (NAM India), the asset manager of Nippon India MF on Wednesday announced the launch of Nippon India Silver ETF and Nippon India Silver ETF Fund of Fund (FOF). Nippon India Silver ETF will invest in physical silver and silver related instruments and the performance of the scheme will be benchmarked against the domestic price of silver (based on LBMA silver daily spot fixing price), while Nippon India Silver ETF FOF will invest in units of Nippon India Silver ETF.
The new fund offer (NFO) for both the schemes will open on 13 January and close on 27 January.
The minimum investment amount for NFO of Nippon India Silver ETF is ₹1,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter, for Nippon India Silver ETF FOF, it is Rs100 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The RBI has said that state-owned SBI, along with private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) or institutions which are 'too big to fail'.
SIBs are perceived as banks that are 'too big to fail (TBTF)'. This perception of TBTF creates an expectation of government support for these banks in times of distress. Due to this perception, these lenders enjoy certain advantages in the funding markets.
"SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), under the same bucketing structure as in the 2020 list of D-SIBs," the Reserve Bank said in a statement.
The additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) requirement for D-SIBs was phased-in from April 1, 2016 and became fully effective from April 1, 2019.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed pleas moved by Future Group companies seeking a direction to the arbitration tribunal, adjudicating Amazon's objections against Future Group's deal with Reliance, to take a decision on their application for terminating the arbitration proceedings before moving any further.
Future Group said that it was seeking an urgent hearing before the Delhi high court since the international tribunal will commence its hearing today.
Till 7 January, the tribunal will hear expert witnesses on Amazon’s arbitration plea, which seeks to block the sale of Future Group’s assets to a unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. Amazon contends that its 2019 investment agreement with Future Coupons bars Future Group from entering into a transaction with specified entities, including Reliance Industries.
Adani Enterprises Ltd. has won a contract to supply overseas coal to India’s top electricity generator as the nation aims to avoid a repeat of last year’s energy crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.
Adani, India’s largest trader of imported thermal coal, will deliver 1 million tons to state-run NTPC Ltd., which in October issued its first tender for coal imports in more than two years, the people said, requesting anonymity as the details are still private.
Kolkata-based Damodar Valley Corp. Ltd., also state-owned, is examining a proposal from Adani for the supply of the same volume to its power plants, the people said.
The Subject Experts Committee (SEC) of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Wednesday granted approval to Bharat Biotech for conducting intranasal phase 3 trials and heterologous trials for COVID-19 booster intranasal vaccine for those who have taken both the doses of Covaxin and Covishield.
The SEC has asked the Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer to submit its revised protocol for trials.
The third wave of COVID-19 pandemic has hit Delhi and the city is expected to record 10,000 new cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 10%, city Health Minister Satyendar Jain said.
The minister also said only 300-400 samples are being sent for genome sequencing now as sequencing of all samples is not possible.
"Delhi is expected to record around 10,000 new cases with a positivity rate of around 10 per cent... The third wave has started in the city," Jain said.
He said the Delhi government had been sending samples of all COVID-19 patients for genome sequencing to determine if the Omicron variant had spread in the country.
Axis Mutual Fund on Wednesday announced the launch of an open-ended index fund tracking the Nifty Next 50 Index. The new fund offer will be open for subscription on 7 January and close on 21 January.
The new scheme will be managed by Jinesh Gopani, head-equity, Axis Mutual Fund and the minimum application amount is ₹5,000. Investors can invest in multiples of Re 1, thereafter. The fund will offer investors to participate in the growth story of companies that come after the top 50 (Nifty 50).
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is planning a potential return to the yen bond market after pricing some of the biggest deals by an overseas issuer in the currency in past years.
The US company has mandated banks for a potential benchmark yen-denominated bond offering, according to a person familiar with the matter, who is not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The deal may come in the near future, subject to market conditions.
The conglomerate sold 160 billion yen ($1.38 billion) of notes with a three-tranche deal in April, which came after the company said it purchased stakes in Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp. In Japan’s negative-rate environment, Berkshire Hathaway in the past has offered yields on notes attractive to local investors, with bond ratings that are higher than those on the Japanese sovereign.
L&T classifies orders worth ₹1,000 crore to ₹2,500 crore as significant.
Oil prices dropped on Wednesday after U.S. fuel stockpiles climbed, indicating declining demand in the world's biggest oil consumer amid a massive spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant.
Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.11%, to $79.91 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 13 cents, or 0.17%, to $76.86 a barrel.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 31, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported late on Tuesday. Distillate stockpiles climbed by 4.4 million barrels during the period.
Realty firm Macrotech Developers, better known as Lodha, on Wednesday said it has recorded sales bookings worth around ₹1,900 crore during the quarter ended December in its two projects in London.
In a regulatory filing, Macrotech said its UK projects had their best-ever quarter of sales of 191 million pounds (around ₹1,900 crore) in Q3FY22.
"Basis this, we believe that MDL's investment in the UK will be significantly repatriated back to India in FY 23," the filing said.
India's services sector expanded for a fifth straight month in December, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous month, as demand rose but concerns over another wave of COVID-19 and inflationary pressures cast a shadow over the outlook, a survey showed.
Services Purchasing Managers' Index , compiled by IHS Markit, eased to 55.5 in December from 58.1 in November, the lowest since September but still well above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.
"2021 was another bumpy year for service providers and growth took a modest step back in December. Still, the latest readings pointed to robust increases in sales and business activity compared to the survey trend," said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at IHS Markit.
The new business sub-index was above 50 for a fifth month, supported by the real estate and business services sectors, although the growth rate softened to a three-month low.
Export business continued to decline as travel restrictions related to the pandemic weighed on international sales.
Business confidence was at a four-month high in December on robust demand, yet rising coronavirus infections kept it in check.
Bitcoin will continue to take market share from gold as part of broader adoption of digital assets, making the often touted price prediction of a $100,000 by advocates a possibility, according to Goldman Sachs Group.
Goldman estimates that Bitcoin’s float-adjusted market capitalization is just under $700 billion. That accounts for 20% share of the “store of value" market which it said is comprised of Bitcoin and gold. The value of gold that’s available for investment is estimated at $2.6 trillion.
Global crypto-themed funds witnessed record net inflows of $9.3 billion during 2021, a 36% increase over 2020 as institutional adoption grew in a breakout year for crypto assets, said digital asset manager CoinShares in a report.
The report further said that the total number of crypto assets or coins in investment product form expanded from nine to 15 during the year. Additionally, 37 investment products were launched in 2021 versus 24 in 2020, making a total of 132 products at present, indicative of the demand and popularity of digital assets.
17800-17950 is a resistance patch for the Nifty. One should not add fresh positions here, in fact traders holding long positions on the index can lighten up a bit and buy lower if there is a dip or intra day correction. If we get past this zone, the next target for the Nifty would be 18200.
Hughes and Bharti Airtel has formed a joint venture HCIPL to provide satellite broadband services in India, the companies said Wednesday.
The combined India VSAT operations of both companies will offer range of satellite and hybrid network solutions to business and government customers.
HCIPL combines the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) businesses of both companies to offer flexible and scalable enterprise networking solutions using satellite connectivity for primary transport, back-up and hybrid implementation.
The agreement, announced in May 2019, has received all statutory approvals, including those from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Department of Telecom (Government of India) and the joint venture has been formed.
Sony Group Corp. is exploring a commercial launch of its own electric vehicle, becoming the latest tech company to venture into the red-hot sector.
Sony Chief Executive Officer Kenichiro Yoshida announced the establishment of Sony Mobility Inc. at an event tied to the CES trade show in Las Vegas Tuesday. No details on pricing or release date were made available.
“We are exploring commercial launch of Sony EV," Yoshida said at a press conference ahead of CES 2022, where Sony also unveiled a SUV-type EV prototype.
The company unveiled its prototype Vision-S in 2020 at the same event, designed in collaboration with auto industry players including Magna and Bosch. The concept vehicle was intended to showcase Sony technologies in entertainment to sensors.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Tuesday said it will launch Molflu (Molnupiravir) at ₹35 per capsule to treat COVID-19 in the country.
Molflu will be priced at ₹35 per capsule, a spokesperson of the Hyderabad-based drug maker said in a statement.
With 10 capsules per strip, the total course of 40 capsules over 5 days would cost ₹1,400, making it among the most affordable treatment options available to patients, it added.
"Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout the country with particular focus on states with high caseload of COVID-19," the spokesperson noted.
Last year, Dr Reddy's entered into a non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Merck Sharpe Dohme (MSD) to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to India and over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, Airtel Payments Bank, said it has been categorised as a scheduled bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With this, Airtel Payments Bank can now pitch for government-issued Requests for Proposals and primary auctions and undertake both central and state government business.
The privatization of state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) may be pushed to the next fiscal as the sale process has not progressed at the desired pace, two officials aware of the development said.
“The financial bids have not yet been called, and we have just three months left. Given BPCL’s borrowings, it will need approval from lenders (long-term agreements have a clause that requires lenders’ approval for promoter changes), which would take a few months," said one of the two officials, who is tracking the sale. Both the officials declined to be named.
The government’s plan to raise a record ₹1.75 trillion from disinvestment proceeds this year now entirely hinges on the success of the initial public offering of India’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corp. of India. Still, the target is likely to be elusive as the Centre planned to raise ₹60,000 crore, or more than a third of its overall disinvestment target, from the BPCL privatization alone. (Read here)
We have achieved the 17800-17850 target for the index! There might be some level of resistance between 17800-17950, but eventually the market might want to scale higher to 18050-18100. Any dip or intraday correction can be utilized to add long positions on the Nifty.
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, its first public weapons launch in about two months and a signal that Pyongyang isn't interested in rejoining denuclearisation talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal.
The latest launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further boost his military capability — without disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Korea — at a high-profile ruling party conference last week.
Asia’s richest man has promised to accelerate what he claims will be a “momentous leadership transition" to the next generation. Just how Mukesh Ambani will carve up his $217 billion empire is still under wraps, but one thing is clear: The eagerly anticipated corporate succession will be underpinned by the emergence of at least three superstar businesses, each of which will aim for a very large share of profit in its particular industry.
A clean transfer of wealth is important to the 64-year-old Indian tycoon, who was embroiled in a bitter inheritance dispute with his younger brother after their father died in 2002 without a will. To avoid any such unpleasantness, one idea under consideration is to put the group’s flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. under the control of a trust-like structure, Bloomberg News reported in November. Ambani, along with wife Nita, 59, and their three children — twins Akash and Isha, 30, and their younger sibling Anant, 26 — would be on its board.
Having the family jointly oversee the whole may be a superior option to dividing up the existing oil refining and petrochemicals, telecom and retail assets. That’s because Reliance is currently in the middle of a very expensive switch to clean fuels by investing across the entire value chain of solar, batteries and hydrogen, something that no other traditional energy company has yet attempted. As Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Neil Beveridge puts it, “If Reliance can pull this off, then the value creation and earnings potential will be substantial."
Cost of capital will hold the key to this ambitious makeover. Just as steady cash flows from refining made it possible for Reliance to incubate India’s leading telecom from scratch, profits from digital businesses and retail may allow the next generation of leaders to replace hydrocarbons — the Ambani family’s traditional source of wealth — with green energy over the next decade.
Mobile internet. Retail. New energy. All three are strong candidates for superstardom, defined by McKinsey & Co. as the top 10% of companies capturing 80% of positive economic profit. Research has shown that the very low interest rates of the past decade have played a role in enabling the rise of these “winner take all" firms. In developed economies like the U.S., the advantage for the market leader became more pronounced as benchmark borrowing costs hit the zero lower bound. Even if the age of ultra-loose financial conditions is now over, Reliance’s balance sheet, which Ambani made free of net debt two years ago, can easily withstand a fresh round of leveraged expansion.
The short term trend of Nifty is sharply up and this upside momentum is likely to continue for the short term. The next upside target for NSE Nifty to be watched at 18,200 levels and this could be achieved in the next one week. Immediate support for Nifty is placed at 17,650 levels.
Shares of RIL, Future group, Bharti Airtel, IT companies, HUL, Axis Bank, will be on focus today.
Stocks in Asia were mixed Wednesday as investors worried about interest rates increases that dragged down US stocks from a record and extended a decline in Treasuries.
Shares in Japan edged higher and they fluctuated in Hong Kong. They slipped in China where equities had their worst start to the new year since 2019. U.S. futures had modest losses. The Nasdaq 100 underperformed amid a selloff in technology shares and the S&P 500 was little changed Tuesday.
Data Tuesday showed mixed signs on U.S. inflation. Prices paid by manufacturers in December came in sharply lower than expected. However, figures showing a record U.S. job quit rate added to concerns over wage inflation.
Meanwhile, North Korea appears to have launched its first ballistic missile in about two months, just days after leader Kim Jong Un indicated that returning to stalled nuclear talks with the U.S. was a low priority for him in the coming year.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 contracts fell 0.2%.
Japan's Topix index rose 0.4%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1%, South Korea's Kospi index lost 1%, Hang Seng Index was little changed and Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%.
Overnight, banking and industrial shares led the market Tuesday, lifting the Dow to a fresh record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq retreated amid worries over higher interest rates.
After broad-based gains on Monday, major indices diverged Tuesday as US Treasury yields continued to climb amid expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates early in 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 214.59 points, or 0.59%, to 36,799.65; the S&P 500 lost 3.02 points, or 0.06%, at 4,793.54; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 210.08 points, or 1.33%, to 15,622.72.
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