Led by positive cues from global peers, Indian markets will likely open higher but oil prices at 11-month high could limit gains. Besides that, Q3 earnings, macro data and stock-specific developments too may sway the market mood today. SGX Nifty traded 40 points up at 14,640, indicating a firm start for the benchmark indices.
In the overnight session, Wall Street fluctuated not far from its record highs. The Dow rose 0.19%, the S&P 500 gained 0.04% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%.
Tracking modest gains from US markets, Asian shares opened mostly higher as investors bet on economic recovery. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.11%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1% and South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 0.64%.
In oil markets, Brent crude prices hit their highest since February as tighter supply and expectations of a drop in US inventories offset concerns over rising Covid-19 cases globally. Saudi Arabia said it plans to cut output by an extra 1 million barrels per day in February and March.
Brent futures were up 0.62% at $57.09 per barrel after rising 1.62% on Tuesday.
Investors on D-Street are also likely to react to the IIP and inflation data released last evening. Retail inflation for December eased to 4.6% in December and is back in the permissible limit after eight months. However, after October surge, IIP again contracted by 2% in November reflecting weak demand in the economy and could concern investors betting on economic recovery.
Now, a look at the stock-specific developments that are likely to sway the market today:
Infosys, Wipro, Amtek Auto, GTPL Hathaway and six other firms are slated to release their Q3 numbers today.
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday evening said it is initiating the process to revise its foreign investment limit, as notified to its depositories, to 100 per cent with immediate effect.
Tata Motors' global wholesales increased 37 per cent QoQ and 1 per cent YoY to 2.78 lakh units in the third quarter of FY21.
Tata Elxsi reported a 39.5% YoY jump in net profit to Rs 105.2 crore for the December 2020 quarter vs Rs 75.4 crore posted in the year-ago period.
Bharat Rasayan's board approved the proposal of buyback of 2.2 per cent shares at Rs 11,500 per share.
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