BackMarkets likely to be steady as US poll outcome nears; ITC, Vedanta, RIL in focus
ITC, Vedanta, Cipla, Tata Consumer Products, Ashok Leyland, United Breweries, Union Bank of India, Glenmark Pharma, among others, are scheduled to announce their September quarter results today
PremiumMUMBAI: Indian stocks markets are likely to be steady on Friday following the trend in global peers. Trends in SGX Nifty suggest flat opening of Indian benchmark indices.
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex had ended at 41,340.16, up 724.02 points or 1.78%. The Nifty was at 12,120.30, up 211.80 points or 1.78%.
A gauge of Asian shares was near a three-year peak while the dollar stayed sluggish on Friday as the prospect of a divided US legislature dimmed chances of major policy changes, lifting risk appetite.
Brushing aside the uncertainty of an exceedingly close US presidential election, investors overnight snapped up riskier assets such as the Australian dollar, which jumped to a six-week high before running into profit-taking in early Asian trade.
Even gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, rallied overnight as investors looked forward to the conclusion of the U.S. election as a precursor to more fiscal stimulus in the world's largest economy.
Democrat Joe Biden crept closer to victory over US President Donald Trump on Thursday by leading with razor-thin margins in a handful of states where votes are still being counted.
Back home, ITC, Vedanta, Cipla, Tata Consumer Products, Ashok Leyland, United Breweries, Union Bank of India, Glenmark Pharma, among others, will announce their September quarter results today.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday upheld an order by the markets regulator directing Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to pay a ₹447 crore, along with 12% annual interest, for making alleged unlawful gains in securities trading, dismissing an appeal by India’s most valuable company.
Making a strong pitch to global investors to be part of India’s growth story, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India will do whatever it takes to make it the engine of global growth resurgence in the post-covid world. The meet saw participation from world over, represented by 20 head honchos of sovereign wealth and pension funds such as GIC, Temasek, US International Development Finance Corporation, Pension Denmark, Qatar Investment Authority, Japan Post Bank, and Korea Investment Corporation, and others with total assets under management worth $6 trillion. Major Indian industrialists including Deepak Parekh, Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani, Mukesh Ambani, Dilip Shanghvi and Uday Kotak also shared their experience at the meet.
The upbeat mood in equities took its toll on the dollar, which was sluggish at 92.530 against a basket of six currencies after hitting a two-week low overnight.
A promise by the Federal Reserve on Thursday to keep its monetary policy loose and do whatever it takes to sustain an unsteady U.S. economic recovery also weighed on the dollar.
A softer dollar supported the Japanese yen which climbed to a near eight-month high of 103.43 yen against the dollar overnight. It was steady in early Asian trade at 103.52 yen.
Gold, which is limited in supply and seen as a hedge against inflation in an era of ultra-loose monetary and fiscal policies, was firm at $1,949.0599 an ounce after jumping over 2% overnight.
US Treasury yields drifted lower again as investors bet that a divided U.S. government will cap debt-funded government spending and limit bond supply.
Ten-year Treasury yield edged lower to 0.7663%, more than 150 basis points below the pre-U.S. election level seen on Tuesday. It had struck a three-week low of 0.7180% on Thursday.
Oil prices were sluggish after a bout of profit-taking in early trade. Brent crude LCOc1 was down 1.04%, or 43 cents, at $40.80 a barrel.
Reuters contributed to the story.
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