PremiumMarkets mostly closed in red on Tuesday along with Wall Street where stocks fell in a volatile session. The market selloff comes amidst US-China tension and investors trying to assess the outlook for the global economy. Investors monitored US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's movements as she landed uneventfully in Taiwan in the widely-anticipated stop on the trip that has angered China.
European stocks opened lower Wednesday on investor trepidation over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which has further strained tensions between China and the United States.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid 0.3% to 7,387.34 points, also on the eve of a widely-expected half-point interest rate hike in Britain.
In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.1% to 6,401.84 points and Frankfurt's DAX slid 0.4% to 13,396.70 compared with Tuesday's closing level.
Quick service restaurant (QSR) operator Devyani International Ltd on Wednesday reported a net profit of ₹74.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2022.
The company, which is the largest franchisee of Yum Brands in India, having Pizza Hut and KFC, and Costa Coffee, had reported a net loss of ₹33.41 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, Devyani International Ltd (DIL) said in a regulatory filing.
Its revenue from operations during the quarter under review was up nearly two-fold to ₹704.72 crore, as against ₹352.75 crore in the year-ago period, it added.
Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy on Wednesday said it has introduced an industry-first 'Moonlighting policy', wherein employees can take up external projects for pro-bono or economic consideration based on internal approvals.
"This could encompass activity outside of office hours or on weekends that does not impact their productivity on the full-time job or have a conflict of interest with Swiggy's business in any way," a company release said.
Moonlighting policy allows employees to work second jobs, outside normal business hours of the primary job, under certain conditions.
India's treasury bill cut-off yields eased 6 to 10 basis points on Wednesday as compared to the previous week, as improving banking system liquidity surplus and expectations of a less aggressive hike by the Reserve Bank of India aided sentiment.
The RBI sold 91-day T-Bill at cutoff yield of 5.56%, down six basis points (bps) as compared to last week, while selling 182-day and 364-day notes at 5.89% and 6.23% cutoff yield respectively, which is lower by 9 and 10 bps respectively.
India’s Tata Capital Housing Finance plans to raise funds through sale of a two-part bond issue, three merchant bankers said.
The housing finance company plans to raise at least 500 million rupees ($6.35 million) through three-year bonds and will pay an annual coupon of 7.55% on this issue, which will have a greenshoe option to retain an additional 2.42 billion rupees. (Full report)
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd plans to raise 5.75 billion rupees ($72.92 million) by selling commercial papers of six-month and one-year maturities, three merchant bankers said on Wednesday.
The financial services company will offer a yield of 6.55% on the six-month papers and has received commitments worth about 5 billion rupees, the bankers said.
The company while will offer a yield of 6.84% on the one-year notes and has received commitments worth about 750 million rupees, they added.
Triveni Turbine (TRIV IN): BUY | CMP: Rs192 | TP: Rs240
Dhanuka Agritech (DAGRI IN): BUY | CMP: Rs695 | TP: Rs850
Indian government bond yields rose on Wednesday after a nine-session slide, tracking a spike in US Treasury yields. The rise comes as all eyes are now on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy decision that is scheduled on Friday, August 5, 2022.
India's banking system liquidity surplus rose to more than 2 trillion rupees on Wednesday, after dropping to a near three-year low below 500 billion rupees ($6.34 billion) last week.
The surplus rose more than four times to 2.02 trillion rupees, compared with last week, as inflows from the government's month-end spending helped, according to traders.
"After the tax outflows there was an acute liquidity crunch with most of the banks, but with month-end inflows coming in, the situation is far better now," a trader with a private bank said.
Uber Technologies on Wednesday sold its 7.8% stake in Indian food delivery firm Zomato Ltd for $392 million via a block deal on local exchanges, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Zomato block deal was executed at 50.44 rupees per share. (Full Report)
Adani Transmission shares today climbed to 52-week high in early morning session. The Adani Group stock opened higher and later hit new 52-week high of ₹3,528 per share levels on the NSE.
While ascending to new 52-week high, Adani Transmission shares' market capitalisation surpassed the market capital of ITC and Bharti Airtel. Now, Adani Transmission shares are placed at the 11th spot in the list of most valuable Indian stocks in terms of market value. (Full Report)
India recorded 17,135 fresh cases of Coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the country had recorded 13,734 cases of Covid-19.
As per the Union Ministry, India's active caseload currently stands at 1,37,057 at the rate of 0.31 per cent.
India has also seen 19,823 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries from Covid-19 infection are now at 4,34,03,610, taking the country's current recovery rate to 98.49 per cent.
Auto, Energy, FMCG indices dragged the most. IT is the only index that is not under the water.
Enforcement Directorate has attached assets totalling ₹415 crore in Yes Bank- DHFL Fraud case. Of the total, ₹251 crore assets were of Sanjay Chhabria and ₹164 crore of Avinash Bhosale.
ED issued two provisional attachment orders under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against the duo.
With this latest attachment, the total goes up to ₹1,827 crore, the enforcement agency said.
Tokyo stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors snapped up shares with strong corporate earnings while watching the impact of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.53%, or 147.17 points, to 27,741.90, while the broader Topix index rose 0.27%, or 5.28 points, to 1,930.77.
India’s information technology companies are expanding their talent pool by hiring freelancers, project-based workers, independent contractors, and part-time hires as they battle high attrition levels in an industry experiencing a covid-induced boom in demand.
India currently has more than 15 million freelance workers deployed on tech projects, according to a June 2022 Assocham report, which forecast the domestic gig economy to grow 17% to $455 billion by 2024. (Full Report)
Sri Lanka's new President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament on Wednesday that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package would restart in August, as the country wrestles with its worst economic crisis in decades.
"We are confident of successfully completing discussions," Wickremesinghe said in a speech, in which he also called on lawmakers to come together to form an all-party government.
Wickremesinghe took office last month after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the country and then quit following mass protests over his mishandling of the economy.
SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh is mulling the possibility of a partial stake sale in the airline, according to sources. Singh currently reportedly holds a majority 60 per cent in the airline said the company continues to be in discussions with various investors to secure financing.
"The company continues to be in discussions with various investors to secure sustainable financing and will make appropriate disclosures in accordance with applicable regulations," a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
Growth in India's dominant services industry slowed sharply in July, squeezed by high inflationary pressures and weaker demand, leading to a further fall in business expectations, a private survey showed.
The S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers' Index sank to 55.5 in July from 59.2 in June, its lowest since March and below the Reuters poll expectation of 58.5.
But the index has been above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for a year and July's reading was higher than the long-term average.
Tirthankar Das, head of technical research, Ashika Group: On the oscillator front, there is still no signs of exhaustion, or any reversal signal are being unfolded. On the contrary, Weekly RSI clocked breakout from 6 months falling trend line indicating long-term positive bias. The psychological level of 17000 which further coincides with the 200dma would be the immediate short-term trend deciding level for the market. On the upside, the elevated target level for Nifty is around 17500 (being 80% retracement of two-month decline (18100-15183). Hence, though index is likely to open on a subdued note today, intraday support around the levels of 17150 is likely to provide cushion for the Index.
Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel One Ltd: Technically, the bullish momentum remains unchanged with the daily gains in the broader market. We allude to our previous commentary of not being complacent and staying watchful as the index showcased some lackluster moves in yesterday’s session that might attract a round of profit booking. However, the undertone is set in favor of the bulls, and any minor correction could be seen as an opportunity to go long in the index. As far as levels are concerned, the 17450-17500 odd zone is expected to act as an immediate hurdle for the index. On the contrary, 17200 is expected to cushion any minor correction, while the unfilled gap around the 17000 mark holds the sacrosanct support zone for the index.
Going forward, we might expect significant traction outside the indices in the broader market space. Hence, it’s advisable to keep focusing on such potential movers, which are likely to provide better trading opportunities. Meanwhile, keeping a close tab on global and domestic macro developments is advisable.
At a time when nations are struggling with skyrocketing food prices and rife inflation, India's ability to produce rice is in danger. Due to a shortage of rainfall in some areas, particularly West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, which account for a quarter of India's output, the total area planted with rice has decreased by 13% thus far this season.
With Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and certain Middle Eastern countries among its top clients, India exports rice to more than 100 countries. In the upcoming weeks, the US is expected to produce a bountiful harvest of wheat, and Ukraine has sent its first grain shipment since Russia's invasion. (Full Report)
Shares of Escorts plunged for second straight day as the company reported a muted performance for Q1FY23 as its standalone net profit declined to ₹147.5 crore in the first quarter ending June 2022 as compared to ₹185 crore in the year-ago quarter while EBITDA margins for the quarter came in at 10%, down 307 bps from the previous quarter. (Full Report)
Shares of India’s Zomato Ltd declined as an undisclosed shareholder offered to sell 612 million shares at a discount, a stake matching that held by Uber Technologies.
Zomato fell as much as 9.5% in Mumbai shortly after opening on Wednesday, before paring the drop to 1.6% at 54.65 rupees as of 9:55 a.m. local time.
The selling shareholder in the block trade offered the stock at between 48 rupees and 54 rupees a piece,
STOCK IN FOCUS
JK Tyres (CMP Rs.130)
In view of the strong products basket, regular price hikes, likely revival in replacement demand, healthy export potential and margin expansion in India as well as Mexico operations, we reiterate BUY rating on JKT with a 1-Year Target Price of Rs150, valuing the stock at 8.5x FY24E EPS.
Intraday Picks
BAJAJ-AUTO (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 3996) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of ₹4050-4070 for the target of Rs.3950 with a strict stop loss of ₹4110.
BIOCON (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 311) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of ₹305- 308 for the target of Rs.315 with a strict stop loss of ₹301.
HINDALCO (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 418) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of ₹422- 426 for the target of Rs.410 with a strict stop loss of ₹430.
Pullarao Daravathu and thousands of fellow farmers from Telangana in India's south are busy planting oil palms as their home state aims to add more area under the controversial crop within four years than the entire country has in decades.
Telangana is targeting 2 million additional acres under oil palm cultivation in the next four years, and is going to great lengths to achieve this goal - from building large dams and irrigation canals to importing millions of germinated sprouts. (Full Report)
The Indian rupee was little changed on Wednesday after opening slightly higher versus the dollar as a strengthening greenback countered gains from portfolio inflows to local markets.
The currency was trading at 78.7125 by 0335 GMT, which was at the same level as its close on Tuesday. It did however pop to a 78.68 at the open.
Bharti Airtel and Reliance gain at the start, while Kotak Bank is down.
Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, Godrej Consumer Products, Gujarat Gas, Vodafone India, and BASF India will be in focus as they declare their June quarter earnings today. (Full Report)
Oil steadied before an OPEC+ meeting as traders wait to see whether the group will heed or snub a US call to boost crude supplies.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed near $95 a barrel after erasing an early drop of 1%. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies convene virtually later Wednesday, and a Bloomberg survey of traders and analysts suggested the alliance led by Saudi Arabia was more likely to keep output steady in September than agree on an increase.
An undisclosed shareholder of India’s Zomato Ltd. is seeking to raise as much as $420 million through a block sale, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.
The Zomato shareholder is offering 612 million shares at between 48 rupees and 54 rupees each, the terms show. That represents a discount of between 2.8% and 13.6% to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. At the bottom of the range, the holder would raise about $373 million. BofA Securities is the sole bookrunner. (Full Report)
China halted some trade with Taiwan in retaliation to the high-profile visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island.
China’s General Administration of Customs said in a statement Wednesday that some fish and fruit imports were suspended due to excessive pesticide residue detected “multiple times" on products since last year, as well as some frozen fish packages that tested positive for coronavirus in June. The Ministry of Commerce said in a separate statement it banned natural sand exports based on provisions of related law, but gave no further details.
Beijing has often targeted Taiwan’s agricultural industry for punishment over political issues. Many of southern Taiwan’s fruit-producing regions are typically bastions of political support for President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates for Taiwan’s formal independence.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government has adopted a targeted approach, based on ground-level inputs, to tackle retail inflation which is ruling at around 7 per cent.
The minister was replying to a short-duration debate on price rise in the Rajya Sabha.
Sitharaman stressed that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong.
Indian economy compared to the situation prevailing in peer-group nations and even developed countries is definitely "much better", she said.
However, the minister also acknowledged that global factors are impacting the economy, and said "these are realities".
Adani Data Networks, the digital connectivity solutions arm of the Adani Group, has acquired the right to use 400MHz of spectrum in the 26GHz band to enter the industrial 5G space.
The group said the 5G spectrum is expected to help create a unified digital platform that will accelerate the pace and scale of digitization of the group’s core infrastructure, primarily its industry and B2C business portfolio.
The new carrier is scheduled to launch commercial flight operations on 7 August by running its first service on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Further, the airline will start services on the Bengaluru-Kochi route and Bengaluru-Mumbai route from August 13 and August 19, respectively.
The government has relaxed norms for blending of imported coal by power generation companies and allowed states and independent power producers to import the fuel as per requirements.
The government has left on states and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as well as the coal ministry to decide the percentage of imported coal for blending purpose.
The move came after power ministry reviewed the coal stock in the country.
SpiceJet’s lessor, Alterna Aircraft Ltd, located in Ireland, has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to de-register its aircraft. In its Monday appeal to India's aviation regulator, Alterna did not state why one of its Boeing 737-800 planes should be deregistered.
Recently, SpiceJet has been in the news due to a number of events involving technical difficulties on its flights. Additionally, the Indian aviation authority was asked to deregister three of SpiceJet's aircraft by one of its lessors with a base in Dubai.
The rupee rallied 53 paise -- its best single-day gain in over 11 months -- to close at an over one-month high of 78.53 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Persistent foreign fund inflows into capital markets, softening crude oil prices and a weak US dollar in the global markets boosted the local currency.
The rupee, which plummeted to a lifetime low of 80.06 last month, made a spirited recovery in the past four sessions as FIIs returned to capital markets and crude oil prices fell below USD 100 per barrel mark.
India's merchandise exports declined marginally to $35.24 billion in July 2022 as compared to USD 35.51 billion recorded in the same month last year, as per the government data released on Tuesday.
This has been achieved despite measures to control inflation (iron ore and pellets, iron and steel, petroleum products, etc.) and the continued disruptions of supply chains due to COVID and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
India's merchandise export in April-July 2022-23 was USD 156.41 billion with an increase of 19.35 per cent over USD 131.06 billion in April-July 2021-22.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the Indian economy is in a much better condition to compared to other economies in its peer group and many developed countries.
In her reply during a discussion on price rise in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said that the macro economic fundamentals of the country are strong. She also cited the loans sought by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) to highlight the better economic condition of India. (Full Report)
The union government has raised the windfall tax on sale of locally produced crude oil to ₹17,750 per tonne. For the past two weeks, the sale of crude oil produced in India attracted an additional duty of ₹17,000 per tonne.
Centre has also revised the cess on export of diesel downwards to ₹5 per litre from ₹11 per litre, while the cess on export of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has been scrapped. For the past two weeks since the last revision, ATF exports attracted an additional duty of ₹4 per litre.
Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday, as investors snapped up shares with strong corporate earnings while monitoring the impact of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.34 percent, or 94.72 points, to 27,689.45 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.17 percent, or 3.26 points, to 1,928.75.
The dollar stood at 133.46 yen, compared with 133.10 yen on Tuesday in New York.
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session lower on Tuesday, while the dollar rallied as risk appetite was dampened by economic uncertainties and escalating U.S.-China tensions.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed red, with the blue-chip Dow faring worst. Economically sensitive transports underperformed the broader market.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven greenback had a better day than most asset classes, jumping 0.8% against a basket of world currencies.
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