Sensex, Nifty to fall amid Omicron fears; Shriram Properties, Future Retail, Cipla in focus

Indian share markets are slated to start the week on a weak note, mirroring weakness in Asian peers. The trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a negative opening for the Indian equities, with SGX Nifty futures trading at around 16,873, down 0.9% on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:45 AM.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty ended lower amid broad-based selloff on weak global cues, while hawkish stance by central banks around the world also rattled investors. The benchmark BSE Sensex nosedived 889 points to end at 57,011, down 1.5% per cent. In a similar trend, the NSE Nifty tumbled 263 points or 1.5% to close at 16,985, slipping below the psychological mark of 17,000 points. The top loser on the BSE Sensex pack was private sector lender IndusInd Bank, which dropped 4.9%. The other notable losers include include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Titan Company, and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

According to market experts, global market trends, foreign institutional investors’ investment flow and developments around the Omicron variant of Covid-19 this week will drive the domestic bourses this week.

Individual stocks that will be in focus on Monday include Shriram Properties, Future Retail, Cipla, IRCON, and others.

Shriram Properties: Shares of real estate developer will be listed on NSE and BSE today. The ₹600-crore IPO of Shriram Group firm had received strong response from investors, with offer subscribing by 4.8 times. The company’s shares were trading at a premium of ₹15 in the grey market, which signals a premium listing of the shares. The issue price for the shares was ₹118 per share.

Future Retail: Shares of Future Retail will be in focus today amid fresh development on legal battla e with Amazon. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday suspended Amazon's deal to acquire stake in Future Coupons Private Limited, a unit of Future Group. The agency also slapped a fine of ₹202 crore on the e-commerce major for hiding facts and making incorrect statements.

Cipla: The drug maker on Saturday announced that it has received final approval for its Lanreotide Injection, from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). The single-dose prefilled syringes are used for the treatment of patients with Acromegaly and Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (GEP-NETs).

IRCON: Ircon International Limited (IRCON), an engineering and construction arm of Indian Railways, has emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction of an 8-Lane Access Controlled Expressway (Bhoj to Morbe Section-SPUR of Vadodra Mumbai Expressway) in Maharashtra. The expressway will be developed on hybrid annuity mode under Bharatmala Pariyojana (Phase 11 - Package XVII).

Here are key factors that will impact Indian stock market performance today:

Asian shares dip on Omicron woes

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region extended fall on Monday as investors' sentiment remained downbeat by increasing cases of the Omicron variant, which is likely to impact global economic growth. The tighter lockdown measures in Europe to contain the spread of the new variant of the Covid-19 also weighed on the market sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 remained the worst performer in the region for the second day with a 1.7% loss as investors reacted negatively to the central bank’s policy announcement. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday announced its decision to scale back its economic stimulus while maintaining its accommodative stance for small and midsize firms.

South Korea’s Kospi also traded lower by 1.3%, followed by a 0.9% fall in the Straits Times Index in Singapore. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 0.7%.

Wall Street extended fall on Friday

U.S. stocks extended fall on Friday amid concerns about the fast-spreading of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The market retreated as investors digested the Federal Reserve's decision to end its economic stimulus faster. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the worst performer with a 1.48% loss, followed by the S&P 500, which fell 1.03%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite closed marginally lower by 0.07%.

Oil prices drop nearly 2%

Oil prices dropped nearly 2% early on Monday amid fear that rising Omicron cases in Europe and the U.S. may impact fuel demand. The spike in Covid-19 cases in countries like the U.K. has prompted several countries to increase travel restrictions, including the world’s largest exporter of crude, China.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 2.74% to $68.90 a barrel, while Brent fell by 1.7% to $71.73 a barrel by 8:25 AM IST.

FIIs investment flow

Foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs) investment flow will also set the tone for the domestic market. Overseas investors have pulled out ₹17,696 crore from the Indian markets in the month of December so far amid rising Omicron cases and fear of sooner-than-expected bond tapering by the US Federal Reserve.

As per the exchange data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew Rs 13,470 crore from equities, ₹4,066 crore from the debt segment and ₹160 crore from hybrid instruments between December 1 and December 17. Last month, they have pulled out ₹2,521 crore from Indian markets.