Sensex, Nifty to open flat; Bajaj Finance, Just Dial, Paytm, Tech Mahindra in focus

Indian benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, are expected to open flat on Tuesday, undermining firm cues from Asian peers. The market may see stock specific reaction as some big companies such as Bajaj Finance, ICICI Prudential Life, L&T Tech, Tata Elexi, Just Dial, are expected to release their earnings reports. The muted trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a flat opening for the Indian equities, with SGX Nifty futures trading 18 points, or 0.10%, lower at 18,332 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 7:55 AM.

On Monday, Indian benchmark indices closed marginally higher in volatile trade, supported by gains in the auto, realty, and power stocks. The BSE Sensex ended 85.88 points, or 0.14%, higher at 61,308, while the NSE Nifty rose 52.35 points, or 0.29%, to settle at 18,308. In line with the benchmark indices, the broader markets also ended higher. The S&P BSE Midcap index rose 0.23%, while the S&P BSE Smallcap index climbed 0.61%. On the sectoral front, all indices, barring pharma and bank, ended in the green with auto and power gaining the most. The top gainers among the BSE Sensex pack were UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Stocks to focus

Individual stocks that will be in focus today include Tech Mahindra, Strides Pharma Science, Tata Power, Manappuram Finance, One97 Communication, Prestige Estates, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, and others.

Tech Mahindra: The IT company has announced acquisition of 100% stake in Europe-based Com Tec Co IT (CTC) and 25% share each in SWFT Technologies and Surance. The deal is expected to boost its digital engineering and insurance technology businesses, the company said in a press release.

Strides Pharma Science: The drugmaker said that its subsidiary, Strides Pharma Global Pte Limited, Singapore, has received a nod from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for a generic version of Oseltamivir Phosphate for oral suspension. Oral suspension is used for treating illness due to influenza.

Tata Power: The Tata group company said that its subsidiary Tata Power Renewables has successfully commissioned 100 MW solar PV projects in Uttar Pradesh.

Manappuram Finance: The board of directors of the gold loan company has approved raising up to ₹800 crore via non-convertible debentures, on a private placement basis.

One97 Communication: The lending arm of the company, Paytm Payments Bank, has issued more than 4.5 lakh FASTags in December 2021, up 11.33% as compared to the previous month.

Prestige Estates: The real estate company has posted a more than two-fold rise in sales bookings at ₹4,267.6 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as compared to ₹2,026 crore in the year-ago period.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC): The financial arm of Indian Railways has raised $500 million (about ₹3,500 crore) through the issuance of denominated, senior and unsecured green notes. The bonds were issued under its $7 billion global medium-term note program.

Here are key things investors should know before the market opens today:

Asian markets advance as investors digest Chinese data

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region opened mostly higher on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of Chinese economic data which indicated the dwindling impact of the pandemic on the economy, prompting Beijing to further ease monetary policy. However, the looming fears that the Federal Reserve would soon raise interest rates weighed on investor sentiment. The Asian markets are expected to witness thin trading today as Wall Street remains closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday; trading will resume tomorrow.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.9% in early trade as investors awaited monetary policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and its governor's press statement on the Japanese economy.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong surged 0.55%, the Straits Times Index in Singapore rose 0.24%, Taiwan Weighted Index added 0.18%, and Australia’s ASX 200 index traded marginally higher in opening deals.

In mainland China, Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component rose 4% each as investors cheered the economic recovery from the pandemic. A data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that China’s economy grew 4% in the December quarter from a year earlier, in line with market expectations. As per the data, gross domestic product (GDP) grew faster than expected at 8.1% in 2021.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite gained 0.24%, and Thailand’s SET Composite climbed 0.25%.

Bucking the trend, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.26%, extending previous session losses by over 1%.

Corporate earnings

The big companies that will announce their December quarter results today include Bajaj Finance, ICICI Prudential Life, L&T Tech, ICICI Securities, Trident, Tata Elexi, Newgen Software, TV18 Broadcast, and Just Dial.

Among others, Anup Engineering, DCM Shriram, Den Networks, EKI Energy Services, Jyoti Structures, Network18 Media & Investments, Ramkrishna Forgings, Shree Ganesh Remedies, Shakti Pumps (India), and Star Housing Finance will also release their earnings report on January 18.

FIIs, DIIs turn net sellers

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers in the Indian equity market on January 17. As per the data available on the NSE, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹855.5 crore, while DIIs net bought shares worth ₹115.3 crore.

Crude oil prices rise on tight supply

Crude oil futures traded higher during early Asian trading hours on Tuesday amid hope that global supply will remain tight even though production rises in Libya. The bullish sentiment continues as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, limited supply to meet strong global demand, which pushed prices higher.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude oil futures for March were up 1.48% at $84.53 a barrel, while the Brent oil futures for March traded 1.13% higher at $87.46 per barrel.

In the overnight trade, global benchmark Brent crude and the U.S. WTI crude ended higher on supply constraints.