Fresh Biden stimulus cheers up markets

Hi there! Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Atul P M, and here is what we have to start your day.

>> Powell stamps out talk of a premature tapering
>> Infosys price targets soar
>> Voting on DHFL resolution may end today
AND
>> Fresh Biden stimulus cheers up markets

And there is more. But first, a quick glance at the state of the markets..

>> Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 83.50 points lower at 8 am (IST), signalling a negative bias on Dalal Street.

ELSEWHERE
>> Asian shares rose on Friday, brushing off a late Wall Street dip as expectations of a large US stimulus under President-elect Joe Biden shored up sentiment. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.3% and South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.2%.

>> Wall Street closed lower overnight after making a U-turn toward the end of the session as reports emerged about US President-elect Joe Biden’s pandemic aid proposal. Dow finished 68.95 points, or 0.22%, down at 30,991 while the Nasdaq dropped 16.31 points, or 0.12%, and the S&P500 14.3 points, or 0.38%

IN CURRENCIES
>> The rupee gained for the third straight day and closed 11 paise higher at 73.04 against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and weak American currency.

>> The dollar index fell 0.071% overnight, with the euro down 0.02%. The yen was steady at 103.77 to the dollar. The offshore yuan held at 6.4651

>> Bitcoin traded around $39,000 as it continued to recover from this week’s rapid plunge.

IN OIL
>> Oil prices rose to a new 10-month high in New York on the stimulus hopes. WTI crude climbed 0.3% to $53.72 a barrel.

AND IN BULLION
>> Gold futures fell by Rs 445, 0.9 per cent, to Rs 48,860 per 10 gm on Thursday as participants offloaded their holdings on low spot demand. Silver contracts for March delivery tumbled Rs 820, or 1.24 per cent, to Rs 65,201 a kg. In international markets, gold prices rose 0.3% to $1,852.75 an ounce

All in all, the trade setup on Dalal Street looked weak. On Thursday, Nifty50 negated the higher highs in the last 15 sessions and formed an Inside Bar on the daily chart, which some analysts saw as a bearish sign.

LET ME NOW GIVE YOU A HEADS-UP on some of the top news we are tracking at this hour.

... US Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought to stamp out talk of a premature reduction in the central bank’s massive bond-buying campaign, saying “now is not the time” to hold that discussion. “We know we need to be very careful in communicating about asset purchases,” he said Thursday during a virtual discussion. “Now is not the time to be talking about exit. I think that is another lesson of the global financial crisis, be careful not to exit too early.”

... US President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal to pour $1.9 trillion into a hobbled economy could lay the foundation for a surge in jobs and spending that many economists say is needed to avoid long-term damage from a record-breaking pandemic recession. The incoming Democratic administration’s proposed package provides targeted aid that economists say delivers the most effective economic boost, including an increase to the current extra weekly benefit to the unemployed, to $400 from $300.

... Brokerages have raised target prices on Infosys after the IT major reported better-than-expected results in the quarter ended December 2020 and hiked revenue and margin guidance for the ongoing financial year. Shares of Infosys ended down 1.2% despite the strong result as the stock has gained close to 19% in the last one month. CLSA, Emkay, Kotak Institutional, Investec, HSBC, Jefferies and Motilal Oswal raised target price by 4.5-15%.

... As economic activity gathers pace, mutual fund managers are eyeing stocks that will benefit from low interest rates and improvement in demand. In December, fund houses allocated some money to NBFCs including housing finance companies, which could be beneficiaries of the expected revival in the real estate sector. Companies in the automobile sector were also added to the portfolio last month.

... Markets regulator Sebi has asked FPIs to share evidence of the wrongdoing they alleged some market participants were involved in just before large transactions took place in exchanges’ special trading windows. The regulator has sought specifics from foreign fund lobby Asian Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which had complained of front running trades ahead of block and bulk deals.

LASTLY, AN UPDATE ON ALL THE STOCKS BUZZING THIS MORNING

>> The voting on the resolution plans of DHFL will likely conclude late evening on Friday. The frontrunners are Piramal Group, Oaktree Capital, and Adani Group who have submitted their offers for the housing finance company

>> Market leader IndiGo and SpiceJet have launched fare sales starting at less than ₹900 for travel between April and September.

>> The market valuation of TCS crossed the Rs 12 lakh crore-mark at close of trade on Thursday, helped by a rally in its share price.

>> IDFC First Bank is offering a credit card that allows interest-free cash withdrawal and lowest finance charges in like with customer ratings

>> Union Bank of India will follow its larger public-sector peers Canara Bank and PNB in raising funds from the equity markets through a qualified institutional placement as early as next month

That’s it for now. For all the market news through the day, do track ETMarkets.com. Have a great day ahead! Bye-bye