BackMarkets likely to be cautious, all eyes on Tata Motors Q1 results
Shares of IndiGo are likely to be in focus todayTata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Bank of Baroda, Ambuja Cements are expected to announce June quarter earnings
PremiumIndian equity investors are likely to be on the sidelines on Thursday in the absence of any major trigger amid widespread pessimism. Asian shares were cautious on Thursday, shrugging off a tech-fuelled rally on Wall Street, while the euro hovered near two-month lows as soft economic data bolstered expectations of rate cuts in Europe.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.5% to nearly three-month high while Australia’s benchmark index hit a new 12-year top on Wednesday. South Korea’s KOSPI was the only index in the red as leading chipmakers shed recent gains amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo. That left the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan broadly unchanged.
On Wall Street, tech companies led the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs on Wednesday after Texas Instruments Inc hinted the slowdown in semiconductor demand would not be as long as feared.
Stock investors have generally been encouraged in recent days by hopes of some headway in trade negotiations between the United States and China, and expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy soon.
Cementing such expectations, a series of purchasing manager index (PMI) readings in the US and Europe on Wednesday were weaker than expected.
Back home, shares of IndiGo are likely to be in focus as Rahul Bhatia, one of the two founders of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, will not accept a dilution of his shareholder rights unless there is a compelling offer from his estranged partner Rakesh Gangwal, according to a Mint Report.
Credit rating agency Icra Ltd on Wednesday downgraded ratings on Yes Bank’s ₹32,911.7 crore bond programme, citing an increase in stressed assets and lack of debt resolutions. The rating on bonds aggregating ₹22,111.7 crore were downgraded by one notch, while that on ₹10,800 crore of additional tier I (AT-I) bonds were downgraded by two notches.
Major companies which are expected to announce June quarter earnings on Thursday are Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Bank of Baroda, Ambuja Cements, Biocon, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Coffee, AU Small Finance Bank and South Indian Bank.
Market attention on Thursday will be squarely on the ECB rate decision after PMI data showed euro zone manufacturing contracted for the sixth straight month. That dragged the single currency to $1.1125, a level not seen since late-May. It was last at $1.1136.
In the US, manufacturing activity slowed to a 10-year low in early July with production volumes and purchases falling.
The dollar index, tracking the greenback against six major currencies, nudged lower to 97.683. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was a touch higher at 108.20.
The weak global backdrop saw bond prices racing with US 10-year yields off 3.3 basis points at 2.05%.
Sterling was last traded at $1.2484, after it fell for several sessions as market participants feared the looming possibility of a no-deal Brexit under Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson.
In commodities, US crude added 12 cents to $56 per barrel while Brent crude climbed 4 cents to $63.20. Spot gold slipped a tad to $1,424.62 an ounce, just short of last week’s peak of $1,452.60.
(Reuters contributed to the story)
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