PremiumAsian markets ended lower on Wednesday as investors wait for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's end-of-week speech and any revelations on interest rate plans. Nikkei opened higher but soon plunged into the red and ended with losses. Shanghai and Hong Kong closed sharply with Hang Seng closing at a 5-month low.
Indian benchmark indices continued to be volatile amidst the expectation of rate hikes by various central banks but ended with marginal gains on Wednesday.
Sensex added 54 points to close at 59,085, while Nifty gained 27 points to finish just above 17,600 points.
NDTV led the Media rally and hit the upper circuit amidst Adani Group's hostile takeover bid of the company. Bank and Realty indices also made a gain of more than a per cent today. Pharma, IT and Auto indices dragged in today's session.
Apollo Hospital, ONGC, NTPC and IndusInd Bank led the toppers chart, but Tata Steel, BPCL and Divi's Laboratories featured in the list of laggards.
Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average ended at a two-week low on Wednesday, although gains in energy companies on higher crude prices limited losses. Nikkei was down 0.49%, its lowest closing level since August 10.
Hong Kong shares ended at a more than five-month low on Wednesday, while mainland China stocks also fell sharply on persistent concerns over a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.9%, while Hang Seng Index ended 1.2% lower, its lowest closing since March 15.
European shares extended a selloff on Wednesday as investors fretted over an energy crisis and gloomy growth outlook.
All eyes are on the Jackson Hole symposium this Thursday where U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to strike a hawkish tone.
The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of airport service aggregator platform DreamFolks Services got fully subscribed within hours of opening for subscription on Wednesday.
The IPO received bids for 1,03,46,872 shares against 94,83,302 shares on offer, translating into 1.09 times subscription, according to data available with the NSE till 1348 hours.
The category for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) received 5.39 times subscription, while non-institutional investors portion got subscribed 41 per cent.
The IPO is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 1,72,42,368 equity shares and has a price range of ₹308-326 per share. (PTI)
Urban Indians rated unemployment as their top concern for 11 consecutive months now, according to the Ipsos What Worries the World Survey.
With the corporate world still emerging and recovering from the prolonged impact of the pandemic, job creation is not keeping pace with the employment demand. With the global slowdown of the economy due to the Ukraine war, the pace of growth is subdued for most businesses. (Full Story)
Divi's Laboratories shares are one of the multibagger stocks delivered by the Indian stock market in last few years. Despite this pharma stock remaining under the sell-off heat for last one year, this multibagger stock has given around 400 per cent return to its shareholders in last 5 years. In this time, the stock has risen from around ₹700 to ₹3,460 apiece levels. However, this multibagger pharma stock has remained sideways for the last three months and Prabhudas Lilladher believes that the stock may go up to ₹4,140 levels in long term, delivering around 20 per cent return to its investors. (Full Report)
Precious metal rates in India remained subdued amid weak global trend. On MCX, gold futures were down 0.2% to ₹51,322 per 10 gram, the sixth decline in seven sessions, while silver dropped below the key level of ₹55,000 per kg. In global markets, the yellow metal edged lower to $1,746 per ounce amid a firm US dollar. Traders remained cautious ahead of ahead of central bankers' Jackson Hole symposium due later this week where Fed chief Jerome Powell will also be speaking. (Full Story)
India’s government is considering selling at least 51% of state-backed IDBI Bank Ltd., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Officials in the government and the state-backed Life Insurance Corp. of India, which together own about 94% of IDBI Bank’s shares, are in talks about how much of their stakes they plan to sell, the people said. Both parties are expected to retain a stake in the lender after the sale, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is confidential. (Full Report)
Revenue of the major States is likely to grow at a moderate pace of 7-9% this financial year, after galloping 25 per cent last year, said rating agency CRISIL Ratings in a report.
This estimate considered India's top 17 states, which account for 85-90 per cent of aggregate gross state domestic product.
"Last fiscal growth was however on a flattish base of fiscal 2021, due to slowdown in the economy, caused by the pandemic," it said.
Healthy tax collections will support revenue growth, with Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections and devolutions payments from the Centre -- together comprising 43-45 per cent of the states' revenue -- expected to show robust double-digit growth this fiscal, the rating agency said. (ANI)
The biggest risk to India's growth outlook is an escalation of geopolitical tensions, especially if these tensions spread to the Asian region, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Jayanth R Varma said on Wednesday.
Varma, in an interview to PTI, said that inflation and inflationary expectations appear to be moderating and high inflation will certainly not become the 'norm' in the country.
He is cautiously optimistic about the Indian economy as after the pandemic abated, consumption demand has begun to recover though the recovery is uneven across sectors and industries.
"Capacity utilization has been inching up, and is now approaching levels at which business will have to seriously consider capital expenditure for expansion," Varma added. (PTI)
Japan's Nikkei share average ended at a two-week low on Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street declines after weak data, although gains in energy companies on higher crude prices limited losses.
Nikkei was down 0.49% at 28,313.47, its lowest closing level since Aug. 10 and a fifth straight day of losses.
The broader Topix edged down 0.2% to 1,967.18, also a two-week trough. (Reuters)
In post-Covid rebound, Indian stock market has produced a good number of multibagger stocks. Indo Amines shares are one of them. The chemical stock has today surged to its life-time high of ₹176 apiece levels on BSE. However, the stock has been giving whopping return to its shareholders since post-Covid rally spanning more than two years time. (Full Story)
Tata Motors Ltd’s UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover Automation PLC is lagging its peers Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Benz. Supply chain issues, slower-than-expected ramp-up of the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, lockdowns in China are weighing on sales volumes.
As operating conditions improve and demand firms up, JLR’s volume guidance of 90,000 units in the September quarter is doable, said analysts. (Full Story)
Worried about India's precarious external accounts and the weakening rupee, domestic importers are hedging a lot more of their currency exposures than they are required to.
The rupee is down about 7.5% versus the U.S. dollar this year, and headed for what could be its worst year in four.
Trading just shy of its 80.0650 per dollar record low reached last month, the rupee has been under pressure from a ballooning oil import bill, high domestic inflation and the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate rises that have elevated yields on the U.S. dollar.
That is in spite of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) concerted and steady efforts to defend the currency. (Reuters)
The near-term outlook for tier-II IT services provider Mphasis Ltd is not very encouraging. This is despite the company's deal win momentum and deal pipeline being steady. Relatively higher exposure to the mortgage segment is seen as a dampener, especially in the backdrop of rising interest rates in the US. Also, the company's management has cautioned against some pockets of weakness such as deferment in spending by some clients and furloughs by a few others. (Full Story)
India reported 10,649 fresh coronavirus infections and 36-related deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union health ministry’s update on Wednesday. The country’s active covid caseload currently stands at 96,442 cases, taking the tally of reported cases since the pandemic hit in March 2020 to 4.43 crore, and death toll to 5,27,452.
Delhi’s active covid-19 cases stand at 4,656, Maharashtra has 12,355 cases, Haryana has 3,207 cases, Punjab 16,737, Kerala has 7,874 covid cases, Tamil Nadu has 5,732 and Karnataka has 10,709 active cases currently. (Full Report)
Realty, Bank and Media see reasonable gain with NDTV hitting the upper circuit.
Bharat Gears Ltd had earlier informed that its board of directors is going to consider and approve bonus shares in its finance committee meeting scheduled on 19th August 2022. However, the company informed BSE on 19th August 2022 that the meeting has been rescheduled to Wednesday, 24th August 2022. (Read More)
The US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo on Wednesday said there is "no evidence" of Indian companies circumventing the sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"I've seen no evidence of Indian companies circumventing sanctions that have been placed on Russia," Adeyemo told reporters during a visit to IIT-Bombay here.
He added that companies around the world, including those in India, the US and Europe, are taking the sanctions seriously and implementing them as well. (PTI)
Shares of SecMark Consultancy Ltd rallied as much as 10% to hit a new high of ₹250 apiece on the BSE in Tuesday's opening deals after its board approved the issue of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 3:2, subject to the approval of the shareholders. Bonus shares are fully paid additional shares issued by a company to its existing shareholders. (Full Report)
The US has received enough petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2023, a federal agency has announced.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The H-1B visa programme is the most sought-after work visa among foreign professionals, including Indians. (PTI)
Shares of NDTV jumped 5% to hit their highest trading permissible limit for the day on Wednesday after Adani group launched a bid to take over the media company.
The stock climbed 5 per cent to ₹384.50 -- its upper circuit limit as well as 52-week high -- on the BSE after begining the trade on a positive note.
At the NSE, it jumped 4.99% to ₹388.20 -- its upper circuit limit as also the one-year peak. (PTI)
Astra Microwave Products shares are one of the multibagger stocks that Indian stock market has produced in last one year. This Radhakishan Damani stock has risen from ₹157.65 to ₹322.65 apiece levels in last one year, doubling positional shareholders' money in this time. Despite weakness in Indian stock market after the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine war, this multibagger stock has delivered stellar return to its shareholders in last six months. In fact, it has delivered whopping YTD return to its shareholders as well. (Full Report)
The ongoing sluggish economic growth in the US is expected to continue through the end of 2023 as moderate gains in consumer spending and government purchases are offset by a significant decline in construction activities, global business intelligence solution firm S&P Global Market Intelligence said in an analysis.
The GDP growth in the US is projected to slow from 5.7 per cent in 2021 to 1.5 per cent in 2022 and 1.0 per cent in 2023 before picking up to 1.7 per cent in 2024.
"With growth falling short of potential, the US unemployment rate will likely rise from 3.5 per cent in July to 4.8 per cent in mid-2024," it said.
On recession in the US, it said although real GDP decreased slightly in the first two quarters of 2022 but "do not call it a recession." (ANI)
Heena Naik, research analyst - currency, Angel One Ltd: We expect EURINR Spot (CMP: 79.56) to further dive south towards 77.00 levels in a month (by Sep’22 end) as it is difficult to reverse the energy crisis in the EU which is expected to deepen in the coming winter. A lot of European companies are considering a shift in some production capacity with China being their prime contender. German companies have already accelerated the pace of investment and factory establishment in China. German chemical giant BASF has given final approval for the construction of the Zhanjiang Verbund site which will be BASF's third-largest site worldwide.
The rupee depreciated 4 paise to 79.87 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.84 against the dollar, then fell to 79.87, registering a decline of 4 paise over the last close.
On Tuesday, the rupee moved up 1 paisa to settle at 79.83 against the dollar. (PTI)
Indian government bond yields are expected to open higher on Wednesday, as the benchmark Brent crude contract touching over $100 per barrel added to prevailing unease over inflation.
The benchmark 10-year government bond yield is likely to fluctuate in 7.26%-7.32% band, a trader with a private bank said. The yield has risen 10 basis points in the last four sessions. It had ended at 7.2811% on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Maruti Suzuki has announced to recall 166 Dzire Tour S vehicles due to a suspected defect in the airbag control unit, the company said in a regulatory filing. The suspected defect has been found in vehicles manufactured between 6th August 2022 to 16th August 2022. (Full Report)
Foreigners are returning to Indian stocks after dumping them in the first half as they look for higher returns amid expectations that major central banks will slow their hiking cycles as price pressures ease. Fears of an economic recession have lifted hopes that central banks will dial back or even halt the rate hikes to avert a slowdown. U.S. Fed officials indicated in the minutes of their July meeting released last week that they would adopt a less aggressive stance if inflation starts to recede. (Full Report)
Tirthankar Das, technical & derivative analyst, retail, Ashika Stock Broking Ltd: On the technical front, Nifty formed a bullish candle on the daily charts that resembled closure to a piercing line formation. Higher high and higher low in weekly time frame remains perfectly in place defining that the trend to remain positive. Yesterday Nifty rebounded sharply from 17,345 levels, coinciding with the 20dma which going forward would remain a crucial support zone in the near term. On the upside, present buying momentum may escalate if Nifty provides a decisive close above the gap area of 17690-17710. Thus, during the day, Nifty is likely to open on a flat to slightly negative note however overall sentiment remains positive. Hence one can initiate buy position at lower levels of 17550-17550 for an upside target of 17800-17860.
Indian benchmark indices snapped a two-day downward spiral on Tuesday to end with a gain of around 0.5%. Tata Chemicals is out of the list of stocks under the NSE F&O ban. (Full Report)
Bitcoin price continued to slip as the usually volatile token has gotten stuck trading within a narrow range. The world's largest and most popular cryptocurrency was trading nearly a per cent lower at $21,190. The global crypto market cap today was above the $1 trillion mark, even as it was almost flat in the last 24 hours at $1.07 trillion, as per CoinGecko.
On the other hand, Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain and the second largest cryptocurrency, fell about a per cent to $1,613. Meanwhile, dogecoin price today was trading over 2% lower at $0.06 whereas Shiba Inu plunged over a per cent to $0.000013. (Full Report)
Stitched Textiles, which owns leading men's wear fashion brand "Barcelona", has decided to withdraw its ₹200 crore-Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The IPO was slated to be entirely a fresh issue of equity shares. Proceeds of the issue were to be used for expansion of the company's retail network by launching exclusive brand outlets, enhancing the visibility and awareness of its brand for funding working capital requirements and general corporate proposals.
The company had filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the proposed IPO on June 17 with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). (PTI)
Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel One Ltd: Last night, US markets had one more round of selling which dampened the overall sentiments of traders across the globe. Tracking these cues, our markets too started lower to hasten towards the key support of 17350. This being the ’20-day EMA’ level, the correction halted in the opening hour which was then followed by a sharp recovery to not only erase all losses but also entered the positive terrain. The similar sort of swings on either side was repeated during the latter half as well. Eventually, the action-packed session ended with half a percent gain tad below the 17600 mark.
The Nifty has completed a price correction of 650 points in merely three sessions i.e. nearly 3.50% from Friday’s high of 17992.20. In our previous commentary, we had mentioned the support zone around 17400 – 17350. Since it coincided with the key moving average (20-EMA), the oversold market attracted some buying at lower levels. With the help of RIL and the banking space who became the real protagonists, the benchmark index Nifty managed to close almost at a day’s high. Although the rebound was very much on expected lines, one should avoid getting carried away with this. We are still not out of the woods yet till a time a few important levels are taken out in the upward direction. As of now, 17650 – 17710 is to be seen as an immediate resistance zone and momentum traders should ideally look to lighten up longs around it. On the flip side, 17525 – 17450 are to be seen as immediate supports. The coming session can slightly be a tricky one because if we rebound first towards the mentioned intraday hurdles, the index is likely to land up in a corridor of uncertainty. Hence, it’s better to follow one step at a time for a couple of trading sessions.
Russia hasn’t been amenable to overtures by Indian state-run firms in acquiring the stakes of Western energy majors in Russian oil and gas assets after their exit from the sanctions-hit nation, said a top Indian government official aware of ongoing deliberations. Russia is looking to buy and resell stakes of Western firms in sanctions-hit oil and gas assets. (Full Story)
After wheat, rice prices are firming up on reports of supply concerns with the all India average retail price of the grain ruling higher by 6.31% at ₹37.7 per kg compared to the year-ago period, according to an official data.
The All India average retail price of wheat has risen by over 22% to ₹31.04 per kg as of August 22 compared to ₹25.41 per kg in the year-ago period, according to the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry.
The average retail price of wheat flour (atta) has increased by over 17% to ₹35.17 per kg as against ₹30.04 per kg in the year-ago period, the data showed. (PTI)
Airport Service aggregator platform Dreamfolks Services Ltd's three-day initial public offering (IPO),with a price band of ₹308- ₹326 apiece, will open for public subscription on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 and the issue will conclude on Friday, August 26. Dreamfolks Services IPO is entirely an OFS of up to 1.72 crore equity shares by its promoters. (Full Story)
The rupee inched up 1 paisa to settle at 79.83 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid a strong American currency in the overseas market and rising crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 79.85 and saw an intra-day high of 79.81 and a low of 79.90 against the American currency.
It finally ended at 79.83, up 1 paisa over its previous close. (PTI)
India's merchandise exports are likely to be around USD 470-480 billion in the current fiscal against USD 420 billion in 2021-22, Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said on Tuesday.
The secretary also said the trade deficit, which crossed USD 100 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal, is not going to cross a "discomfort level".
Talking to reporters, Subrahmanyam said the merchandise trade during 2022-23 will be USD 470-480 billion and the services sector is likely to contribute another 280 billion.
"We are pretty much on track," he said, adding the exact target for the fiscal may be announced later. (PTI)
Tier-III cities with resort locations in India have seen the strongest recovery amid a rebound in leisure tourism. This has allowed these locations to command average rates higher than what they originally achieved prior to the pandemic, a new report by hospitality consulting firm Hotelivate said.
Business is robust across markets, especially with leisure locations continuing to outperform urban markets. (Full Report)
Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, signalled serious intent for a play in India’s media and entertainment industry as his companies acquired a 29% stake in broadcaster NDTV Ltd and launched an open offer to acquire an additional 26% from shareholders, as mandated by law.
The acquisition capped months of speculation about a potential acquisition that saw the NDTV stock rally fivefold in nine months (from ₹75.55 on 1 December to ₹376.55 on Tuesday on BSE). (Full Story)
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, taking a breather from a nearly 4% surge the previous day on receding fears of an imminent output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $100.01 a barrel by 0114 GMT, after rising 3.9% on Tuesday. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract was down 10 cents, or 0.1%, at $93.64 a barrel, having jumped 3.7% the previous day.
Both contracts soared on Tuesday after de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia flagged the possibility of introducing cuts to balance a market it described as "schizophrenic", with the paper and physical markets becoming increasingly disconnected. (Reuters)
India’s largest power producer is looking to develop another massive nuclear project just weeks after announcing its entry into the sector, a sign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expansion into atomic energy is gaining momentum.
A venture between NTPC Ltd., which relies mostly on coal to supply energy to the world’s fastest growing population, and India’s monopoly nuclear developer is in advanced talks with the government to develop two 700-megawatt reactors in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the discussions aren’t public. (Full Report)
V. Balasubramaniam, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of India INX, a BSE subsidiary at Gift City, and NemL MD and CEO Mrugank Paranjape are the top contenders to head BSE, according to two people aware of the development.
Balasubramaniam was second-in-command at BSE when Ashishkumar Chauhan was the MD and CEO. Chauhan now heads rival NSE. A broker Mint spoke to said Balasubramaniam had the “right mix of aggression and quality" to lead the exchange. He has served as the chief business officer of BSE, overseeing business development across segments such as equity, equity derivatives, debt, and mutual fund distribution. (Full Story)
Stocks drifted to modest losses in a quiet Tuesday on Wall Street, as steadying Treasury yields helped calm the market following its worst tumble in months.
The S&P 500 dipped 9.26 points, or 0.2%, to 4,128.73 after flipping between small gains and losses throughout the day. The edge lower follows up on Monday’s sharp 2.1% drop, which came on the heels of the first losing week for the index in the last five. (AP)
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