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 14 points gain.
The Sensex and Nifty lost more than a percent in the week ended February 19, while BSE midcap and smallcap indices outperformed with gains of 0.63 and 1.23 percent, respectively. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 14,872, followed by 14,762.2. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 15,117.8 and 15,253.8.
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
Stocks on Wall Street closed near break-even on Friday as investors sold technology shares that have rallied through the pandemic and rotated into cyclical stocks set to benefit from pent-up demand once the coronavirus pandemic is subdued.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.98 points to 31,494.32 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.11 points, or 0.07%, to 13,874.46. The S&P 500 dropped 7.26 points, or 0.19%, to 3,906.71.
Asian Markets
Asian share markets inched higher on Monday as expectations for faster economic growth and inflation globally batter bonds and boost commodities, though rising real yields also make equity valuations look more stretched in comparison.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1%, after easing from a record top late last week as the jump in U.S. bond yields unsettled investors. Japan’s Nikkei recouped 1.0% and South Korea 0.4%, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were a fraction firmer.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 14 points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 15,009 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.
Oil gains as US production slowly returns after freeze
Oil prices rose on Monday as the slow return of US crude output that was cut by frigid conditions raised concerns about supply just as demand is coming back from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude was up 76 cents, or 1.2%, at $61.67 a barrel by 0104 GMT, after gaining nearly 1% last week. U.S. oil rose 74 cents, or 1.3%, to $59.98 a barrel, having fallen 0.4% last week.
States' GST revenue shortfall may be lower by up to Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal
The GST revenue shortfall faced by states is likely to reduce by about Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal on improved collections over the past four months, an official said. The sharp decline in GST collections was estimated to lead to Rs 1.80 lakh crore shortfall in GST revenues of states. This includes Rs 1.10 lakh crore revenue loss on account of GST implementation and Rs 70,000 crore on account of COVID-19 pandemic.
Bitcoin hits fresh high
Bitcoin continued gaining on Sunday, rising to a fresh high and extending a two-month rally that took its market capitalization above $1 trillion on Friday. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency rose to a record $58,354, taking its weekly gain to around 20%. It has surged around 100% this year.
Forex reserves down by $249 million to $583.697 billion
The country's foreign exchange reserves fell by $249 million to $583.697 billion in the week ended February 12, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week, the reserves had declined by $6.24 billion to stand at $583.945 billion. It had touched a record high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
In the reporting week, the decrease in reserves was mainly due to a fall in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves. FCAs decreased by $1.387 billion to $540.951 billion, weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
FPIs invest Rs 24,965 crore in February so far
Continuing their buying spree, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested Rs 24,965 crore in Indian markets in February so far as various organisations predicted high economic growth for the country and the Union Budget boosted investor sentiment.
According to depositories’ data, FPIs pumped in Rs 24,204 crore into equities and Rs 761 crore in the debt segment, taking the total net investment to Rs 24,965 crore during February 1-19.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 118.75 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,174.98 crore in the Indian equity market on February 19, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
Four stocks - BHEL, Canara Bank, Vodafone Idea and SAIL - are under the F&O ban for February 22. 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