The Indian markets may open on a flat note today, as indicated by the SGX Nifty, which is trading flat as of 7:40 AM. In overnight deals, US stocks fell as technology-related shares slid for a second day. The S&P 500 ended down 0.84 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.27 per cent.
In Asia, shares were flat to negative in Friday's early deals Australian ASX 200 declined 0.22 per cent in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei was flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.3 per cent.
The Bank of England said it was considering negative interest rates as the UK economy faces rising COVID-19 cases, higher unemployment and a possible new Brexit shock.
In commodities, oil perked up as OPEC threatened to clamp down on member states that did not cut output. Brent was last trading at $43.30 per barrel.
Back home, the changes in the index constituents of FTSE will be effective from today, which are set to trigger movements in individual stocks. Key additions among Indian stocks include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Tata Consumer Products, Adani Greens, IGL, SBI cards, and Balkrishna Industries are some of the other stocks to be added.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel is likely to see outflow of as much as $128 million.
Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories yesterday said it has settled its patent litigation with Celgene for the latter's cancer drug capsules. Following the development, Dr Reddy's ADR jumped as much as 6 per cent, and as such, the company's shares might also trade actively in the domestic markets today.
Besides, investors will continue to track newsflow regarding India-China tensions as well as the Covid-19 trends. India has recorded 96,793 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its tally past the 52-lakh mark. The death toll has risen by 1,139 to 84,404.
And now, a quick look at some other top news.
A US-based law firm has filed class action suits against HDFC Bank alleging misleading public statements and for failing to inform investors about the bank's improper internal controls on vehicle loans.
The Board of Directors of RITES are scheduled to meet today to consider the proposal for buyback of the fully paid-up equity shares of the company.
The RBI on Thursday announced it would go for an outright purchase of Rs 10,000 crore of bonds from the secondary markets on September 24.
The proposed divestment of the Centre's majority stake in certain PSBs will be credit negative for these lenders, ratings agency ICRA said on Thursday. ICRA said that most of these PSBs have weak credit profile and their credit ratings are primarily supported by their sovereign ownership and a stable deposit base, which in turn is supported by their ownership.
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