What changed for the market while you were sleeping? Top 10 things to know

The Indian stock market is expected to open in the green following positive global cues. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 40 points gain.

The Sensex ended up 112.77 points at 40,544.37 on October 20 and the Nifty gained 23.8 points at 11,896.80. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty is placed at 11,839.6, followed by 11,782.4. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 11,951.6 and 12,006.4.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:

US Markets

Wall Street shares closed higher Tuesday on growing optimism that U.S. lawmakers are nearing a deal on a stimulus package aimed at cushioning the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 113.37 points, or 0.4%, to 28,308.79, the S&P 500 ended 16.2 points higher, or 0.47%, to 3,443.12 and the Nasdaq Composite closed 37.51 points higher, or 0.33%, to 11,516.49.

Asian Markets

Asian stocks were set for modest gains on Wednesday after renewed U.S. stimulus hopes helped Wall Street higher, although wobbles in the tech sector could keep a lid on investor sentiment.

Australian stocks opened slightly higher while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was roughly flat. The Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.25%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were up 0.24%.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 40 points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 11,947 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.

Oil falls after U.S. inventory build feeds oversupply fears

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a surprise climb in U.S. crude stockpiles added to concerns about a global supply glut as a spike in global COVID-19 cases fuels demand fears and production returns in Libya.

Brent crude futures for December delivery were at $42.94 a barrel, down 22 cents, or 0.5%, as of 0035 GMT, while December U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 23 cents, or 0.7%, to $41.47 a barrel.

FDI up 16% to $27.1 billion in April-August: Govt data

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has increased by 16 percent year-on-year to $27.1 billion during April-August this year, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on October 20. During April-August last year, India had received FDI worth $23.35 billion.

The ministry said that the total FDI, which includes reinvested earnings, grew by 13 percent to $35.73 billion. "It is the highest ever for the first 5 months of a financial year and 13 percent higher as compared to the first five months of 2019-20 ($31.60 billion)," it added.

Govt may cap royalty payment to foreign partners of Indian companies

The Union Cabinet is likely to take up a proposal under which domestic companies may not be allowed to pay hefty amounts to their foreign partners for technology collaboration or brand name. The centre is planning to cap royalty payments and increase withholding tax, a source said.

The finance ministry is said to have consulted the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Reserve Bank of India on this proposal. As per an earlier proposal, in case of technology transfer or collaboration, the royalty payment can be capped for the first four years at 4 percent of the product or company’s turnover, for the next three years at 3 percent of turnover, for three years after that at 2 percent of turnover, and thereafter at 1 percent of turnover.

Reliance Jio, Qualcomm successfully test 1 Gbps 5G speed in India

Reliance Jio and Qualcomm Technologies have successfully tested their 5G mobile network in India, the two said in a statement on October 20. Jio and Qualcomm announced they achieved over a 1 Gbps speed on the Reliance Jio 5GNR solution and the Qualcomm 5G RAN platform. With 5G technology, users will experience the benefits of higher data speeds, low latency communications and enhanced digital experiences.

Jio said it is working together with Qualcomm to develop indigenous 5G solutions and network infrastructure for India. It has been working on developing indigenous 5G technology solutions for India, which will have wide-ranging applications across retail and industrial segments.

Results on October 21

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Colgate-Palmolive, Syngene International, Asian Tea & Exports, Arihant Superstructures, Agro Tech Foods, Avantel, Bliss GVS Pharma, DB Corp, GMM Pfaudler, Indo Count Industries, JK Tyre & Industries, KPIT Technologies, National Peroxide, Newgen Software Technologies, Sagar Cements, Sasken Technologies, SE Power, Shanthi Gears and Tejas Networks are among 31 companies to announce quarterly earnings on October 21.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 1,585.07 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,633.23 crore in the Indian equity market on October 20, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

10 stocks under F&O ban on NSE

Bharat Heavy Electricals, Canara Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Vodafone Idea, Jindal Steel & Power, Mindtree, National Aluminium Company, Punjab National Bank, Steel Authority of India and Tata Motors are under the F&O ban for October 21. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies