PremiumBenchmark indices were up over 0.1% at close on Monday. IT was the top drag. Nifty sectoral indices realty, metal, media, financial services, auto, and bank ended with over 1% gains at close. Nifty had 34 advances and 16 declines. Tata Motors, Coal India and Maruti were top gainers on the index, while TCS, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were top losers at close. On Sensex, there were 20 advances and 10 declines at close. Maruti, Powergrid and ITC were top gainers, while TCS, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were top losers. Nifty touched a high of 18,041.95 during the day. Sensex hit the high of 60,476.13.
“Nifty started the day on a flat note and marched higher with the support from the banking heavyweights. It finally tested the 18,000 mark which market participants had awaited much. However, during the latter part the index gave up some of the morning gains and ended around 17,950 with marginal gains of about three-tenths of a percent. Nifty finally conquered the 18,000 mark during the day which has been a remarkable journey post the covid-led fall in the last year. Although the IT space which has done remarkably well in this uptrend corrected today post the quarterly results of TCS, the banking took the charge today and led to markets to achieve the milestone. The trend still remains positive but still, one needs to be very selective in picking stocks from a short term perspective. The immediate supports for Nifty are placed around 17,900, 17,840 and 17,770 while resistance is seen around 18,130. It is advisable to continue with a stock specific approach and trade with a watch on the above mentioned levels."
Adani ports on Monday said it will not handle EXIM containerized cargo originating from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan from 15 November. The trade advisory will apply to all terminals operated by APSEZ and including third party terminals at any APSEZ port till further notice, according to a report by Moneycontrol. The advisory comes after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), acting on an intelligence input, last month seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin from Afghanistan at the Mundra Port, located in coastal Gujarat's Kutch district, the report added.
"Nifty made a new lifetime high of 18,041 today ,where it saw some profit booking.It closed at 17,956, up by 60 points since yesterday's close. Volumes in Nifty were lesser than its average volumes. It is important for Nifty to close above 17,950 levels with higher than average volumes to continue its upward move. Nifty has a strong support in 17,580-17,620 range. Trades can use buy on dips strategy with strict stoploss for 18,100-18,150 as targets."
Benchmark indices opened flat on Monday, even as Asian stocks were reported to have climbed despite inflation fears and rising fuel prices and a weak job report from the US. But both Sensex and Nifty kept in the green and steadily rose through the day. Nifty crossed the 18,000 mark touching a new record and remained above the mark for much of the day. However, towards end of the day the index fell below the 18,000 mark, and stayed close to the mark at close. The only drag on the index was the IT sector, while auto, metals, banks and realty were among sectors that supported the momentum. Sensex, too, kept its position above the 60,000 mark throughout the day. While tech stocks dragged, banking stocks and Reliance kept the index buoyant.
Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which owns and operates retail chain D-Mart, hit ₹3 trillion in market capitalization on Monday, the 17th Indian listed company to do so. Shares of the company have surged over 70% so far this year. The stock hit a record high of ₹4,837 apiece on the BSE today, pushing its market cap to ₹3.11 trillion. At 02:51pm, the scrip traded at ₹4809, up 9.1% from previous close. Avenue Supermarts has now joined the league of Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, ONGC, Wipro Ltd, HCL Technologies and Asian Paints, which have all achieved this milestone.
“Indian markets started on a positive note following positive Asian market cues as investors took comfort on news of opening up more vaccinated travel lanes in 8 countries as covid cases declines. During the afternoon session markets continue to trade handsomely as broad gains in rate sensitive counters, viz, auto, realty and utility. Further, even improved risk appetite against the backdrop of positive global set-up has kept the sentiment upbeat. Traders also took support as data showed country’s exports growing at a healthy rate. Exports have touched $197 billion during April-September this fiscal. Additional optimism came in as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers to the tune of ₹1,997 crore so far in October."
# US banks will be closed in observance of Columbus Day.
# India’s forex reserves plunged by $1.169 billion to stand at $637.477 billion in the week ended 1 October 2021. The dip in the forex was on account of a fall in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.
# Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹64.01 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth ₹168.19 crore in the Indian equity market on 8 October 2021.
# China has been seeking to isolate Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory. It stepped up military harassment of the island by flying fighter jets toward Taiwan which has raised angst in markets, drawing in the alliance between the UK, Australia and the US.
# Three central ministers of India may convene a meeting in the backdrop of concerns over possible blackouts in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh & Andhra Pradesh because of depleting stocks of coal at power plants. The aim is to find ways to ensure adequate supply of fossil fuels to build up stocks.
# The US economy created the fewest jobs in nine months in September, with non-farm payrolls increasing 194,000, way below economists' forecast of 500,000.
# BoE policymaker Michael Saunders told households to get ready for "significantly earlier" interest rate rises as inflation pressure mounts in the British economy.
Spot trading volumes rose 6.2% to $2.5 trillion in September even as cryptocurrencies declined with bitcoin and ether prices down 7.1% and 12.6%, respectively, according to a report by digital asset data provider CryptoCompare. The volumes had touched around $3.8 trillion in April 2021 when bitcoin had hit its all-time high. The daily maximum of $161.6 billion was traded on 7 September, up 54.2% from the intra-month high hit in August. (Read here)
IIFL Finance on Monday said it has launched instant business loan facility on messaging platform WhatsApp. The non-banking financial company (NBFC) claims to be the first to have rolled out this feature over WhatsApp. All that a borrower has to do is send a text to 9019702184 on the instant messaging app and share basic details and loan requirement, which will be matched to loan offerings by an artificial intelligence (AI) powered bot. Once the loan is approved, the user will complete know-your-customer procedure (KYC), verify bank transfer details and mandate registration, all on the messaging app, to receive funds in account. Users will be able to avail loan of up to ₹10 lakh with minimum documentation and approval in 5 minutes, IIFL said in a statement. (Read Here)
Canara Bank has informed exchanges that Moody's Investors Service has revised the bank's rating outlook from “Negative" to “Stable" while affirming the bank's long term local and foreign currency deposit ratings at 'Ba 1' and its Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) at 'b1'.
KPMG expects digital companies in India to raise about $10 billion through initial public offerings in the next six months, as investors continue to pump money into the country’s technology sector. “India is unveiling an absolutely new area of growth with these digital companies for hungry global asset managers," Srinivas Balasubramanian, senior partner and head of corporate finance at KPMG India, told Bloomberg Television’s Rishaad Salamat and Haslinda Amin in an interview. “A lot of money printed during the Donald Trump administration is invariably finding its way to the stock markets globally and India is one of the beneficiaries." After nearly two years of enduring the coronavirus pandemic, a robust return to life aided by a mass vaccination drive, an accommodative central bank policy and expected economic growth of 9.5% this year are also fueling India’s stock market rally. (Bloomberg)
Quarterly EPS for Q2FY22 is ₹15.68 per share
Declared second interim dividend of ₹0.50 per share
MG Motor India today revealed the price of its mid-sized SUV ‘Astor’ starting at ₹9.78 lakh for the base variant of 'Style' and ₹16.78 lakh for the top model of ‘Sharp’ variant. (Read here)
India’s economic recovery gained further momentum in September, enthused by ebbing of second wave, fast-paced vaccinations, and enhanced mobility, which is currently at around 90% of pre-pandemic level, stated a Finance Ministry report on Monday. (Read here)
Bharti Group's subsidiary OneWeb will be the first private player to launch satellites from Indian soil through ISRO facilities, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said today. "OneWeb will be the first customer which starts to bring a commercial position into the Indian space market," Mittal said while speaking at the launch of space and satellite companies body Indian Space Association. He said that OneWeb will use ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III rockets for the launch of satellites from Indian soil. OneWeb has 322 satellites in space at the present. (Read here)
The winner of the 2021 Nobel prize for outstanding work in the field of economics will be announced Monday. Unlike the other Nobel prizes, the economics award wasn’t established in the will of Alfred Nobel but by the Swedish central bank in his memory in 1968, with the first winner selected a year later. It is the last prize announced each year. Last year's prize went to two Stanford University economists who tackled the tricky problem of making auctions run more efficiently. (Reuters)
Rationale behind the top five Buy suggestions:
Ashok Leyland Ltd: The company is one of the leading player in India CV industry with a 32% market share in the MHCV segment. The company also has a strong presence in the fast growing LCV segment. Demand for MHCV was adversely impacted post peaking out due to multiple factors including changes in axel norms, increase in prices due to implementation of BS 6 norms followed by sharp drop in demand due the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. While demand for the LCV segment has been growing smartly post the pandemic, demand for the MHCV segment has also started to recover over the past few months before the 2nd lockdown. We believe that the company is ideally placed to capture the growth revival in the CV segment and will be the biggest beneficiary of the Government’s voluntary scrappage policy and hence rate the stock a BUY.
Carborundum Universal: The company is part of the Murugappa group and is a leading manufacturer of abrasives, industrial ceramics, refractories, and electro minerals in India having application across diversified user industries. The company is expected to benefit from improving demand scenarios across its end user industries such as auto, auto components, engineering, basic metals, infrastructure, and power. While demand from the Auto sector has been robust we expect demand from metal industry pick up given increased economic activity.
Federal Bank: It is one of India’s largest old generation private sector banks with total assets of ₹1.9 trillion. with deposits of ₹1.56 trillion. and a loan book of ₹1.2 trillion in F21. NPAs have remained steady for the bank over the past few years with GNPA for Q3FY21 at 3.38% while NNPA ratio stood at 1.14%. PCR at the end of Q3FY21 stood at ~67% which we believe is adequate. Restructuring book is expected to be at ₹1,500 crore- ₹1,600 crore out of which ₹1,067 crore has already been restructured. This is against earlier expectations of total restructuring of ₹3,000 crore- ₹3,500 crore.
GNA axles: The company is one of the leading suppliers of rear axles to the auto industry. GNA is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of strong growth outlook for truck sales in US and Europe markets which are witnessing strong recovery in demand. US which accounts for almost 40% of the company's revenues has been registering strong class 8 truck sales.
Shriram City Union Finance: The firm is part of the Shriram group and is in the high margin business of lending to small businesses which account for 57.3% of the loan book as of end FY20. The company posted a good set of number s for the quarter due to positive surprise on the asset quality front. It reported a strong 50% sequential growth in disbursement for the quarter which led to a 3.7% q-o-q growth in AUM to ~ ₹28,500 crore. We are positive on the company as we believe that the worst is over in terms of asset quality which along with positive growth momentum should lead to a re-rating for the company.
Gold
Spot gold ended lower by 0.8% during the week as the dollar strengthened ahead of the key US employment data (due late on 8 October, Friday) which would hint towards US Federal Reserve’s timeline of tapering the monetary policy. Gold might remain under pressure in the week ahead as any positive economic data set by US will increase bets towards a tighter policy and push the dollar higher. FED's plan on increasing interest has clouded the outlook for the safe haven Gold.
Crude oil
WTI Crude gained over 2.2% last week as mounting supply concerns following the resumption in global economies underpinned Oil prices. Oil prices were pushed higher as OPEC planning to continue with the scheduled expansion in production activities and US Energy Department not willing to release Oil from the emergency crude reserves despite increasing fuel demand and tight supply. Rising fuel demand given the recovery in economic activities amid tighter Oil supply and increasing natural gas prices might keep prices elevated in the week ahead.
Base metals
Industrial metals traded higher on the LME & MCX during the week despite a stronger dollar as depleting inventories across exchanges and revival in markets risk appetite supported sentiments. The gains for Industrial metals were capped as worries over growth in China’s property sector following Evergrande’s debt troubles amid disrupted industrial activities hinted towards instability in the world’s largest metal consuming economy.
Copper
LME Copper ended higher by 1.2% last week reflecting the potential shortage worries arising from major copper producer Peru. Despite concerns in China’s property markets, industrial metals might continue to trade higher following resumption in global economic activities amid potential shortage concerns in the week ahead.
Nifty IT has remained the sole drag on its sectoral indices list till 01:05 pm on Monday.
Three firms—One Mobikwik Systems Ltd, SJS Enterprises Ltd and Skanray Technologies Ltd—have received approval from capital market regulator to launch an initial public offering. On 12 July, Mobikwik filed draft papers while SJS Enterprises filed papers on 28 July with Sebi. On 27 June, Skanray Technologies filed draft papers. (Livemint)
Japan's Nikkei share average rose for a third straight session on Monday, extending its recovery from a six-week low marked last week, as a sharp decline in the yen boosted exporters while a drop in covid-19 infections added to economic reopening hopes. The Nikkei closed 1.60% higher at 28,498.20, gaining more than 1,000 points from Wednesday's six-week low, while the broader Topix rose 1.77% to 1,996.58, marking its second straight winning session. New cases of coronavirus infections in Japan fell to 553 on Sunday, the lowest in almost a year, according to public broadcaster NHK. At the height of Japan's fifth wave in late August, the number was close to 26,000. (Blooomberg)
Banks were at the front pushing Nifty's trajectory beyond the 18,000 mark on Monday. HDFC, Kotak and ICICI banks led the charge.
Sensex remained above the 60,000 mark with 22 advances and 8 declines at noon. Tech stocks TCS and Tech Mahindra were among the top losers on the index, while Maruti and NTPC were top gainers. HDFC, Kotak and ICICI banks topped index contribution. On Nifty there were 37 advances and 12 declines. Auto, realty and metal sectors supported the index.
“Prestige Estates Projects Limited has reported pre-sales growth of 88% at ₹2,111.9 crore as compared to ₹1,123.3 crore in Q2FY21, along with this company has reported 100% growth in volume at 3.54 mn sq. ft as compared with 1.77 mn sq. ft in Q2FY21. The company has reported continued growth in its collection at ₹1,551 crores up by 35%. The company has received a very good response in its latest project Prestige Great Acres, project got sold out on its day of launch. Prestige has a good pipeline of projects across southern India as well as in the Mumbai and NCR market."
Despite facing short-term volatilities such as higher attrition, Tata Consultancy Services will continue to invest as per business requirements and not look at protecting profit margins, a senior official has said. (Read here)
“Sunteck Realty Limited, Mumbai based real-estate player has reported pre-sales in line with market expectations, company reported strong growth in pre-sales of 36% at ₹272 crore as compared to ₹200 crores in Q2FY21. Along with this company has reported healthy growth of 47% in collections at ₹207 crores as compared to ₹141 crore in Q2FY21. The company continues its growth momentum in Q2FY22, both pre-sales and collections are in line with the market expectation. In this quarter company has announced a joint venture at Kalyan with the potential development of 10 mn sqft, the company is expected to complete the project in the next 9 years."
Indian markets hit new highs today with Nifty hitting 18,000 for first time as gains in Reliance Industries and banking stocks were offset by weakness in IT stocks after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported September-quarter results. The Sensex was was up about 250 points near 60,312. (Read here)
China’s decision to allow electricity prices to rise to ease a worsening energy crisis will add to inflation pressures at the same time that the economy is slowing. The State Council, China’s cabinet, said 8 October power prices will be allowed to rise by as much as 20% against a benchmark, double the level of the current cap, a move that would make it profitable for electricity producers to boost supply, while also curbing users’ demand. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s chief China economist, Lu Ting, estimates the impact on consumer price index could be about 0.4 percentage point, while Michelle Lam, greater China economist at Societe Generale SA, projects a 0.1 percentage point increase in CPI. (Bloomberg)
GMR Infrastructure Ltd expects to complete the demerger of its airports and non-airports business by December 2021, the Hyderabad-based infrastructure major said in an investor presentation on Monday. (Read here)
In Q2FY22, companies in the I-direct consumer discretionary universe are likely to report strong revenue growth of ~18% year-on-year (y-o-y). This is largely supported by a favourable base and demand revival led by easing of lockdown restrictions post the second wave of pandemic. We believe a swift demand recovery aids our coverage companies to cross their pre-covid-19 level sales in Q2FY22. The home building material companies in the paints and piping segment are likely to report strong revenue growth backed by a pick-up in real estate demand and renovation activity. Paint majors such as Asian Paints & Berger Paints are likely to report strong revenue growth of 21% and 20% y-o-y led by volume growth of 15% and14% y-o-y respectively. On the piping front, Supreme Industries, Astral Poly are likely to report strong revenue growth of 31%, 36% y-o-y, respectively, supported by favourable base and price hikes. In our electrical consumer durables universe, Havells and Crompton Greaves Consumer are likely to report strong revenue growth of ~15% y-o-y led by a favourable base and strong demand for kitchen & home appliances. New product launches and upgradation of kitchen/home appliances amid continuance of work from home culture were key triggers for demand growth.
"The markets are cruising well above the 17,950 level. If we can sustain this on a closing basis, the Nifty should be headed to 18,200 as the next pit stop. The updated support for the week is 17,800. This makes for a good risk/reward ratio and hence dips or intraday corrections can be utilized to enter fresh long positions."
India's Trade Minister Piyush Goyal will have a one-on-one meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday at the G-20 summit in Italy, the government said in a statement. Goyal will also meet other trade ministers, including those from the United States, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada, among others, the statement said on Monday. Relations between India and China have been strained due to border related issues. (Reuters)
Shares of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd opened flat on their debut on the exchanges on Monday. The stock opened at ₹712 on the BSE, same as its issue price. ₹10.02 am, the scrip was at ₹719.45, up 1.05% from its issue price. At the upper end of the IPO price band, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC was offered at price-earnings of 39 times its FY21 earnings. (Read here)
Aditya Birla Sunlife AMC shares were trading at 706.45, down 8.55 points, or 1.20% at 10:15 am on Monday on NSE; and 705.20, down 6.80, or 0.96% on BSE.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened in the red on Monday, contrary to Asian markets, where stocks were reported to be climbing at opening of trade. SGX Nifty had indicated a positive opening for the bourses. IT was the top drag on the Nifty which had 41 advances and 9 declines as of 9:25 am. TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech were the top drags on Sensex.
Morgan Stanley has upgraded its view on China’s property sector to “attractive" from “in-line" as it sees growing likelihood of easing measures, with default risks and housing market weakness largely priced in. “We believe an inflection point for China’s property policy is approaching," analysts led by Elly Chen wrote in a note dated Sunday. “Property stocks will react on policy easing, which looks more likely now." China’s tightening policies on the property market to curb excess debt buildup and speculation have led home purchases to drop sharply in the past few months. The situation has squeezed heavily indebted developers like China Evergrande Group and led smaller firms such as Fantasia Holdings to default, roiling the financial markets amid fears of risk contagion. Expectations on policy easing are growing after China’s central bank last month urged financial institutions to help local governments stabilize the rapidly cooling market and ease mortgages for some homebuyers. (Bloomberg)
Shares of Ramkrishna Forgings are among the multibagger stocks of this year that has given around 151% return in year-to-date (YTD) terms. Ramkrishna Forgings is among India's largest manufacturer and exporter of CV forgings. Brokerage firm Emkay believes that the company is a play on CV upcycle in domestic and overseas markets. (Read here)
Surging energy prices are kindling bullish bets on developing-nation exporters, with Russia emerging as traders’ favourite investment destination. Russia’s ruble has gained more than any other emerging-market currency this month, bolstered by the prospect of higher oil revenues, while the nation’s stocks outperformed as a broad gauge of developing equities sank. OPEC’s monthly report will be closely watched this week as investors seek further clues on the outlook for the oil industry. It marks an abrupt change of pace for emerging-markets investors who’ve spent the last few weeks alternately worrying over the threat of cascading debt delinquencies from China’s Evergrande crisis and the looming prospect of tighter policy from the Federal Reserve. (Bloomberg)
China's Ant Group has raised its registered capital to 35 billion yuan ($5.44 billion) from 23.8 billion yuan, public business registration records showed, as the fintech giant continues its government-mandated restructuring. Ant, an affiliate of e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, in a Monday statement said the increase was to support growth and was "according to relevant regulations and business needs". Authorities in April ordered sweeping restructuring at Ant after halting the financial technology (fintech) firm's record $37 billion initial public offering in November, underscoring government determination to rein in its internet giants. The overhaul subjects Ant to tougher regulatory oversight and capital requirements. (Reuters)
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, a research-led, global integrated pharmaceutical company on Monday announced the launch of a bioequivalent version of Tiotropium Bromide dry powder inhaler (DPI) under the brand name Tavulus in Spain, for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “Tavulus is a long-acting bronchodilator that helps to open the airways and makes it easier for air to get in and out of the lungs. It also works to prevent sudden, short-term worsening of COPD symptoms," the company said in a filing.
Sunteck Realty Ltd on 11 October came out with its operational update for the second quarter of FY22. The company said its pre-sales grew by 55% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) and 36% year-on-year (y-o-y) to ₹272 crore. Its collections grew 20% q-o-q and 47% y-o-y to ₹207 crore, while collection efficiency stood strong at 85% of pre-sales in H1FY22 as against 68% in H1FY21. “Both pre-sales and collections witnessed sturdy growth along with high collections efficiency. The company’s focus on execution of its existing portfolio complemented by strong in-house development capabilities has been an enabler in maintaining the sustained growth in cash flows. With projects across the pricing spectrum in MMR, the company is confident to maintain the sturdy growth in pre-sales driven by new launches as well as ready-to-move-in inventory," the company said in a regulatory filing.
Markets are likely to be volatile on Monday while trends in SGX Nifty indicate a soft opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Friday, the BSE Sensex ended at 60,059.06, up 381.23 points or 0.64% while the Nifty was at 17,895.20, up 104.85 points or 0.59%. Asian shares slipped on Monday as global inflation angst favoured commodities as a hedge over US equities, while rising US bond yields lifted the dollar to two-and-a-half year peaks against the Japanese yen. Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both down around 0.5% in early trade, as oil prices extended their bull run. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2%, and Australia 0.9%. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.5%, after shedding 2.5% last week. The focus will be on earnings, US inflation and retail sales data, and minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting which should confirm that a November tapering was discussed. (Read here)
Valuations are quite stretched and investors would be wise to mitigate the risk of a correction by reducing allocation towards equities. Broad markets are ripe for a correction over the coming few weeks and investors are advised to increase allocation towards debt and gold. Nifty will experience weakness if it breaks its support at 17,250, until it does it could remain sideways or mildly bullish. Also it is unlikely that it will make fresh highs over the coming weeks.
“TCS reported a 2.9% q-o-q growth in revenues to $6.33bn which was below street estimates. In rupee terms revenue grew by 3.2% q-o-q to ₹46,867 crore. Gross profit for the quarter was up 3.3% q-o-q to ₹ 18,945 crore while gross margins remained flat q-o-q at 40.4%. Ebit for the quarter registered a growth of 3.6% q-o-q to ₹12,000 crore while Ebit margins expanded marginally by 10bps q-o-q to 25.6%. Adjusted net profit for the quarter was up by 6.8% q-o-q to ₹9,624 crore largely due to sharp increase in other income by 68.5% q-o-q to ₹969 crore. Demand environment is expected to remain strong which bodes well for the company and the entire IT sector. Overall, the company reported numbers which were below street estimates for the quarter and the markets will now look forward to the Infosys numbers which will be declared on the 13th of October."
National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Indiabulls Housing Finance and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) continue to be the among the stocks/securities that have been put in the futures and options (F&O) ban for trade on Monday, 11 October by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). (Read here)
Cryptocurrency prices today were mixed with bitcoin trading above the $55,000 mark. The most popular and world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization surged more than 1% to $55,584. Bitcoin has advanced 15% in the past seven days. Other cryptocurrencies were performing mixed over the last 24 hours. Ether, the coin linked to ethereum blockchain and the second largest crypto, slipped 1% to $3,462. Cardano declined marginally to $2.22 whereas dogecoin prices tumbled 4% to $0.23. XRP, Shiba Inu gained while Litecoin, Uniswap plunged in the last 24 hours.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked across the country for the seventh consecutive day on Monday. Prices of petrol and diesel rise by ₹0.30 (at ₹104.44/litre) and ₹0.35 (at ₹93.17/litre) respectively in Delhi today. In Mumbai, petrol is priced at ₹110.41/litre (up by ₹0.29) and diesel costs ₹101.03/litre (up by ₹0.37) today. Petrol has become costlier at ₹105.09 in Kolkata whereas diesel is being sold at ₹96.28. Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai, petrol price has been hiked to ₹101.79 and diesel is being retailed at ₹97.59. In Karnataka's capital city Bengaluru, petrol price has increased to ₹108.08 while diesel is being sold at ₹98.89 per litre.
RIL, Infosys, PTC India among stocks to watch. (Read here)
The dollar ticked up to a two-and-a-half-year high versus the yen on Monday after a soft US payrolls figure did little to alter market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will announce it will start tapering its massive bond-buying next month. The US economy created the fewest jobs in nine months in September, with non-farm payrolls increasing 194,000, way below economists' forecast of 500,000. Still, data for August was revised up sharply while the jobless rate dropped to an 18-month low of 4.8% due to people leaving the labour force. Average hourly earnings also increased 0.6% from 0.4% in August. All told, the spectre of labour shortage firmly remains in place, keeping worries about inflation alive and giving the Federal Reserve justification to go ahead with reducing its stimulus it started last year for pandemic relief.
The Indonesian rupiah could be Asia’s best-performing currency for the rest of the year with elevated commodity prices boosting the nation’s trade surpluses. The exporter of coal and palm oil is benefiting from a global energy crisis that has roiled many of its peers that are net commodity importers. Indonesia is due to post September trade figures Friday, following a record $4.74 billion surplus in August—its 16th in a row. The rupiah rose 1.3% in the third quarter, even as Asian rivals weakened with rising Treasury yields. With the nation’s foreign reserves at a record, Bank Indonesia has plenty of ammunition to support the currency if US yields rise further in coming months.
Asian stocks climbed Monday, helped by a rally in Japan, with traders also weighing the resilience of the pandemic recovery to an energy crunch and the prospect of tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. Japanese shares were boosted by a drop in the yen and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s comments that he isn’t considering changes to the country’s capital-gains tax at present. Equities in Hong Kong and China also climbed. US futures were in the red. US stocks declined Friday after jobs growth data fell significantly short of expectations but also showed a jump in earnings. Wage gains and a surge in energy costs highlight price pressures that are adding to the case for tighter monetary policy. The Federal Reserve is expected to proceed with a tapering of bond purchases in coming weeks, and Bank of England officials moved to reinforce signals of an imminent rise in interest rates to curb inflation. The pound strengthened. Treasury futures fell, after the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield advanced past 1.6% on Friday. There’s no cash Treasuries trading Monday due to a US holiday. West Texas Intermediate crude was around the highest since 2014. A gauge of the dollar was steady.
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 10:40 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%
Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 declined 0.5%
Japan’s Topix index rose 1.6%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4%
Hang Seng Index rose 2%
Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5%
Currencies
The Japanese yen was at 112.37 per dollar, down 0.1%
The offshore yuan traded at 6.4386 per dollar
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1%
The euro was at $1.1579
Global equity markets wavered on Friday on a weak US labor market report, and Treasury yields rose as investors still expected the Federal Reserve to begin tapering its massive bond purchases as early as next month. Yields on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note climbed above 1.6% for the first time since June, the dollar eased and stocks on Wall Street slid as technology and other high-growth shares sold off while energy and financials gained. The US economy created the fewest jobs in nine months in September amid a drop in hiring at schools and worker shortages. Some attributed that at least partly to jobs lost after vaccine requirements were imposed to combat the surge of the Delta variant. The unemployment rate dropped to an 18-month low of 4.8%.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 fell 8.42 points, or 0.2%, to 4,391.34.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.69 points, or less than 0.1%, to 34,746.25.
The Nasdaq fell 74.48 points, or 0.5%, to 14,579.54.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 17 points, or 0.8%, to 2,233.09.
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