Market Headstart: Nifty likely to open flat; Godrej Consumer, Finolex Industries top buys

The Nifty50 is expected to open flat with a negative bias on October 17, tracking other Asian markets which were trading with a negative bias as soft US retail sales data raised concerns about the health of the world’s largest economy and a risk of a global recession.

Analysts said the ongoing US-China trade war has been keeping investors' confidence low and decreased the investment spending.

Meanwhile, as per Reuters, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on October 16 that the US and Chinese trade negotiators were working on nailing down a Phase 1 trade deal text for their presidents to sign in November.

In the currency market, soft US retail sales took the shine out of the dollar.

The dollar index fell 0.30 percent on October 16 and last stood at 97.964, having touched its lowest since August 27, reported Reuters.

Oil prices eased after US data showed a larger-than-expected build in the US crude stocks. Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.82 percent to $58.93 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 1.01 percent to $52.82 per barrel, Reuters reported.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader index in India. Nifty futures were trading around 11,484-level on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.

The rupee settled 11 paise higher at 71.43 against the US currency on October 16, tracking gains in domestic equity markets and softening crude oil prices. Foreign fund inflows also supported the local currency.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 686.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares of worth Rs 1,576.73 crore in the Indian equity market on October 16, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Stocks in news

Mindtree: Q2 consolidated profit jumps 45.6 percent to Rs 135 crore versus Rs 92.7 crore QoQ, revenue rises 4.4 percent to Rs 1,914.3 crore versus Rs 1,834.2 crore QoQ.

Zee Entertainment: VTB Capital acquired rights to dispose of 10.71 percent equity held by Essel Media in the company on October 11.

Edelweiss Financial: Competition Commission of India approved Kora Master Fund LP's investment of up to 10 percent ($75 million) in Edelweiss Securities.

Results on October 17

Zee Entertainment Enterprises, South Indian Bank, Cyient, Adroit Infotech, Automotive Stampings, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, 3i Infotech, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, TVS Motor Company, PVR, Mastek, Shemaroo Entertainment, Jay Bharat Maruti and Chennai Petroleum Corporation are among the companies which will release their September quarter numbers today.

Technical Recommendations

We spoke to the brokerage firm Bonanza Portfolio and here is what they recommend:

Godrej Consumer Products: Buy | CMP: Rs.706 | Target: Rs: 766 | Stop Loss: Rs.670 | Upside: 8.50 percent

Finolex Industries Ltd: Buy | LTP: Rs 599.55 | Buy range: 580-570 | Target: Rs 638 | Stop Loss: Rs 550 | Upside: 6 percent

Exide Industries: Sell | LTP: Rs 182.95 | Target: Rs: 167 | Stop Loss: Rs 192 | Downside 8 percent