The Indian stock market is expected to open in the green as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 103 points gain.
The BSE Sensex was up 117.65 points at 47,868.98 on January 1 while the Nifty50 gained 36.70 points at 14,018.50. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 13,989.93, followed by 13,961.37. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 14,048.43 and 14,078.37.
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:
Asian Markets
Asian share markets hit pause on Monday as reports of a possible tightening in coronavirus emergency rules for Tokyo pulled Japanese stocks off 30-year highs, while also lifting the safe-haven yen.
Japan’s Nikkei shed its early gains to fall 1.1% when Fuji TV reported the government was considering a state of emergency for capital Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1%, a whisker from a record high.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 103 points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 14,119 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.
India approves Covishield, Covaxin vaccines in fight against COVID-19
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on January 3 granted restricted emergency use authorisation for the Serum Institute of India (SII)’s ‘Covishield’ and Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ vaccines against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The ‘Covishield’ vaccine, developed by University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is being produced in the country by the Serum Institute. Bharat Biotech has developed ‘Covaxin’ – India’s first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19.
Oil prices slip after OPEC warns of downside risks to demand in first-half 2021
Oil prices edged lower on Monday, the first day of 2021 trading, ahead of a meeting of OPEC and allied producers to discuss output levels for February with fears for first-half demand seeping into the market as the coronavirus pandemic lingers.
Brent crude for March was at $51.76 a barrel, down 4 cents or 0.08%, by 0038 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for February fell 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $48.43 a barrel.
Japan snaps 19-month decline in factory activity in December - PMI
Japan’s factory activity ended a record 19-month run of declines in December as output stabilised for the first time in two years, suggesting manufacturers are shaking off the negative impact from the coronavirus pandemic.
The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 50.0 in December from the previous month’s 49.0 and a preliminary 49.7 reading.
China's Dec factory activity moderates, higher costs hit firms
Activity in China’s factory sector rose in December as the world’s second-largest economy sustained its recovery to pre-pandemic levels, a business survey showed on Monday, however, increasing cost pressures slowed the pace of expansion.
The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.0 from November’s 54.9, with the gauge staying well above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction but missing expectations and easing to the softest pace in three months.
Exports slip 0.8% in December 2020; trade deficit widens to $15.71 billion
The country’s exports declined marginally by 0.8 percent to $26.89 billion in December 2020, due to contraction in sectors like petroleum, leather and marine products, according to preliminary data released by the commerce ministry on Saturday.
The trade deficit in December widened to $15.71 billion, as imports grew by 7.6 percent to $42.6 billion, the data showed. Exports in December 2019 was $27.11 billion, while imports stood at $39.5 billion.
India's forex reserves dip by $290 million to $580.84 billion
After touching a record high, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $290 million to $580.841 billion in the week ended December 25, RBI data showed. In the previous week to December 18, the reserves had surged by $2.563 billion to a lifetime high of $581.131 billion.
In the reporting week, the drop in reserves was on account of a fall in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCA slipped by $253 million to $537.474 billion, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data showed.
RBI launches Digital payments index to track transactions
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 1 said it has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country. This is a significant development given the sharp pick-up in digital transactions seen in the recent past.
DPI score for March 2018 is set at 100. The DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84 respectively, indicating appreciable growth. Going forward, RBI-DPI will be published on the RBI’s website on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of four months, the central bank said. In February this year, the RBI had first announced the plan to launch the DPI.
FPIs invest record Rs 62,016 crore in equities in December
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers for the third month in a row by investing Rs 68,558 crore in Indian markets as global investors continued betting on emerging markets. For the equity segment, this is the highest quantum of money invested ever since the FPI data has been made available by the National Securities Depository Ltd.
The second highest amount into equities was invested by FPIs in November, when they had pumped in Rs 60,358 crore.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 506.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 69.4 crore in the Indian equity market on January 1, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies