The Indian stock market is expected to open in the red on February 1, as SGX Nifty trends indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 41-point loss. During the day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to present the country's budget for the financial year 2021-22.
The BSE Sensex plunged 588.59 points, or 1.26 percent, to 46,285.77 on January 29, while the Nifty50 fell 182.90 points, or 1.32 percent, to 13,634.60. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 13,498.67, followed by 13,362.73. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 13,868.67 and 14,102.73.
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 that could impact Indian as well as international markets:
US markets
US indices fell on Janaury 29 after COVID-19 vaccine data from Johnson & Johnson hurt sentiment, while a standoff between Wall Street hedge funds and small, retail investors weighed in.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 404.60 points, or 1.32 percent, at 30,198.76, the S&P 500 was down 47.75 points, or 1.26 percent, at 3,739.63, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 139.68 points, or 1.05 percent, at 13,197.48.
Asian markets
Asian shares wavered on February 1 amid worries that problems with vaccine rollouts combined with new strains of COVID-19 would delay a global economic recovery that has already been baked into the market’s rich valuations.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 percent, following four straight sessions of losses. Japan’s Nikkei bounced 0.4 percent, after shedding almost 2 percent on January 29.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 41-point loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 13,679 on the Singaporean Exchange around 0730 hours IST.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman to present Budget 2021
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2021-22 on February 1. The market will closely follow Budget announcements. Experts have said that wild gyrations on the Budget Day can’t be ruled out. Click here for the latest updates
January 2021 GST collection at record high
The GST revenue collected for January 2021 touched nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore. This is the highest GST revenue the government has collected since the rollout of the goods and services tax regime.
The Ministry of Finance said on January 31: "The gross goods and services tax (GST) revenue collected in the month of January 2021 till 6pm on January 31 is Rs 1,19,847 crores."
Govt mops up Rs 19,499 crore from CPSE disinvestment, buyback so far in FY21
The government has garnered Rs 19,499 crore through CPSE disinvestment and share buyback so far in 2020-21, against the Rs 2.10 lakh crore budget target set for the entire fiscal year ending March 31.
As many as fourCPSEs—Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Dynamics, IRCTC and SAIL— have come out with offer-for-sale (OFS) this fiscal year, fetching Rs 12,907 crore for the exchequer. Besides, initial public offering (IPO) by IRFC and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders together fetched Rs 1,984 crore.
Parliamentary panel asks FCI to recover Rs 105.40 crore dues
A parliamentary panel on January 29 directed the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) to make efforts to recover its pending dues worth Rs 105.40 crore from three public sector undertakings—MMTC, STC and PEC. Dues amounting to Rs 92.18 crore from MMTC, Rs 6.64 crore from State Trading Corporation of India (STC) and Rs 6.65 crore from PEC Ltd are pending despite regular persuasion, it said.
The dues relate to the export of wheat from 2012-14. "FCI might be losing huge interest on it,” the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings headed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said in a report placed in the Lok Sabha.
Exports may dip 5.8%, imports by 11.3%
The country's exports are expected to contract by 5.8 percent and imports by 11.3 percent during the second half of the current financial year, though the implementation of several measures by the government would help support exports, the Economic Survey 2021 has said.
"Net exports (difference between exports and imports) is expected to re-enter the negative territory in the second half. Exports are expected to decline by 5.8 percent and imports by 11.3 percent in the second half of the year," the survey said.
China's factory recovery slows in January
China’s factory activity grew at the slowest pace in five months in January, hit by a wave of domestic coronavirus infections but still in line with the ongoing recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell to 51.3 in January from 51.9 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on January 31.
FPIs net buyers at Rs 14,649 crore in January
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 14,649 crore in Indian markets in January amid the availability of global liquidity and emerging markets being a preferred destination for foreign funds.
Data with depositories show that overseas investors pumped in a net of Rs 19,473 crore into equities but pulled out Rs 4,824 crore from the debt segment between January 1 and January 29.
RBI fixes sovereign gold bond issue price at Rs 4,912 per gram
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fixed the sovereign gold bond issue price at Rs 4,912 per gram. The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2020-21 - Series XI will be open for subscription from February 1 to February 5, 2021, the central bank said.
India's forex reserves up by $1.091 billion to $585.334 billion
The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.091 billion to $585.334 billion in the week ended January 22, RBI data shows. In the week ended January 15, the reserves had declined by $1.839 billion to $584.242 billion.
Results on February 1
Results on February 1: Castrol India, Coromandel International, Finolex Industries, Fortis Malar Hospitals, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Mastek, OnMobile Global, Rane Brake Lining, Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure, Subex, Talbros Engineering, Triveni Turbine and Zydus Wellness are among 37 companies to announce their quarterly earnings on February 1.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 5,930.66 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 2,443.2 crore in the Indian equity market on January 29, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies