The Indian stock market is expected to open in the red as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with an 88 points loss.
The BSE Sensex declined 49.96 points to 52,104.17 on February 16 while the Nifty50 fell 1.20 points to 15,313.50. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 15,226.53, followed by 15,139.57. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 15,416.13 and 15,518.77.
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
The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a record closing high on Tuesday as cyclical sectors gained on the prospect of more fiscal aid to lift the U.S. economy from a coronavirus-driven slump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.82 points, or 0.2%, to 31,522.22, the S&P 500 lost 2.25 points, or 0.06%, to 3,932.58 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 47.98 points, or 0.34%, to 14,047.50.
Asian Markets
Asian markets pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday, as investors juggle the prospects for an economic comeback and additional stimulus with continued pandemic concerns.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.06% in early trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were down 0.37%.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with an 88 points loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 15,239 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.
India's GDP to contract 1% in December quarter, says BofA
Against the majority view of a rebound in the growth numbers for the December quarter, the house economists at the Wall Street brokerage Bank of America Securities on Tuesday penciled in a 1 percent contraction in India's GDP for the third quarter.
On an average, economists at almost all the rating agencies and brokerages have forecast 0.4-0.7 percent positive growth for the economy that has contracted a record high 23.9 percent in the first quarter and 7.5 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal.
Focus on infrastructure spending in Budget 2021 expected to boost petrochemicals demand: Govt
The government on Tuesday said it expects more demand for petrochemicals like polymers and speciality chemicals in the country due to increased emphasis on infrastructure spending in the Budget 2021-22.
Increased spending on infrastructure development in sectors like agriculture, healthcare and automobiles will result in increased demand for petrochemicals, according to an official statement.
FMCG industry grows 7.3% in October-December, rural sales up 14.2%: Nielsen
The FMCG industry in India has recorded a value growth of 7.3 percent in October-December quarter helped by consumption-led recovery during the festive period and increase in sales from traditional as well as organised trade, according to data analytics firm Nielsen.
The metro market witnessed "significant recovery", while rural India, which is performing well after a quick recovery from the pandemic, continued to be "buoyant" and witnessed double-digit growth during the quarter under review.
Lodha Developers files papers with Sebi for Rs 2,500-crore IPO
Macrotech Developers (formerly Lodha Developers), one of India’s largest real estate players, has filed a draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise around Rs 2,500 crore via an initial public offer, sources with knowledge of the matter told Moneycontrol.
On January 6, 2021, Moneycontrol was the first to report that the realtor had revived its listing plans on the back of a sharp surge in residential sales and improved investor sentiment and would file its papers with Sebi by March.
“The e-filing of the DRHP has been done. The Lodha IPO is majorly a primary issue of shares and the proceeds are likely to be used for debt reduction, land acquisition and for new projects,” said one of the persons cited above. In 2018, the realtor had said a major chunk of the IPO proceeds would be used towards debt repayment.
Results on February 17
Pasupati Spinning, Sanghvi Forging and Engineering, SR Industries, Uniply Decor and Uniply Industries will announce their quarterly earnings on February 17.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 1,144.09 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,559.53 crore in the Indian equity market on February 16, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
1 stock under F&O ban on NSE
SAIL is under the F&O ban for February 17. 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