MUMBAI: Markets are likely to remain volatile on concerns of rising covid-19 cases while trends in SGX Nifty suggest a flat opening on Tuesday. On Monday, the BSE Sensex ended at 50,395.08, down 397 points or 0.78%. The Nifty closed at 14,929.50 down 101.45 points or 0.67%.
Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday after Wall Street’s main indices closed at record highs and investors awaited comments from the US central bank’s meeting later this week.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both surged on gains in travel stocks as mass vaccinations in the United States and congressional approval of a $1.9 trillion aid bill fueled investor optimism.
Investors are focused on the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which will conclude on Wednesday, as rising bond yields fuel concerns for a pickup in inflation. Fed policymakers are expected to forecast that the US economy will grow in 2021 by the fastest rate in decades.
Germany, France and Italy hit pause on AstraZeneca covid-19 shots after several countries reported possible serious side-effects. The development will be watched in Australia, where the vaccine is also administered.
The government will sell a 16.12% stake through an offer-for-sale via stock exchanges, Tata Communications said in the statement. The remaining shares will be sold to Tata Sons Pvt.’s investment arm Panatone Finvest Ltd immediately after that sale, it said. Panatone Finvest currently owns 34.8% of Tata Communications, while Tata Sons has a 14.1% stake in the company.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) is likely to ask the regulator to lower the minimum price for the auction of 5G airwaves, a person directly aware of the development said. Telecom operators have insisted that the floor price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is “unaffordable" and will seriously hamper the introduction of 5G services in India.
India plans to raise the eligibility criteria for automakers to qualify for financial subsidies under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, said two people directly aware of the developments. The revised rules are expected to mostly benefit companies that have high levels of vehicle exports and also the ability to continue growing them, they said. Hyundai Motor India, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Ford Motor India are the country’s top three passenger vehicle exporters. Bajaj Auto Ltd and TVS Motor are the leading exporters of two-wheelers.
Longer-term US treasury yields fell Monday as the market looked ahead to the Fed meeting and the latest government debt auctions. The benchmark 10-year yield, which reached 1.642% last week, ended Monday down 2.8 basis points at 1.6073%.
Rising inflation expectations could prompt the Federal Open Market Committee to signal it will start raising rates sooner than expected.
In currencies trading, the dollar gained as traders cut bearish bets on the greenback to four-month lows. The dollar index rose 0.154%, with the euro down 0.03% to $1.1924.
(Reuters contributed to the story)
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.