Sensex, Nifty to open higher; HUL, Wipro, Vedanta, IndusInd Bank, Ceat, Grasim shares eyed

The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are poised to open higher on Wednesday, following strong cues from global peers. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading higher following a strong finish on Wall Street overnight on robust corporate earnings. The firm trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 186 points, or 1.14%, higher at 16,523 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:05 AM. Investors will keep a close eye on earnings reports by Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Havells India, and Tata Communications, while oil stocks will also be in focus after the government eased the windfall tax on fuel shipments and crude output. On the global front, the Bank of Japan will begin its two-day policy meeting today and will announce its monetary policy decisions on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Indian benchmarks extended the gaining streak for the third session to hit fresh one-month closing highs, supported by gains in financial and auto stocks amid a mixed trend in global markets. A recovery in the rupee also lifted market sentiments. The BSE Sensex rose 246 points, or 0.45%, to settle at 54,768, and the broader NSE Nifty added 62 points, or 0.38%, to close at 16,340. The top gainers on the Sensex pack were Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, and Bharti Airtel. On the sectoral front, realty was the biggest gainer, followed by bank, auto, and basic materials.

Stocks to watch

Hindustan Unilever (HUL): The FMCG major has reported a 13.85% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at ₹2,391 crore for the quarter ended June 2022. The revenue from operations climbed 19.46% YoY to ₹14,331 crore during the quarter under review, while the underlying volume growth stood at 6%.

Oil marketing companies (OMCs): Shares of oil retailing companies will be in focus as the government has scrapped a levy on gasoline exports, and lowered windfall taxes on other fuels, citing ease in international crude prices.

Ambuja Cements: The cement major reported a 25.5% YoY fall in consolidated profit at ₹865.44 crore in the second quarter ended June 2022 (Q2CY22), weighed down by higher power & fuel cost, and freight & forwarding expenses. However, revenue rose 15.1% YoY to ₹8,033 crore during the quarter under the review.

Vedanta: The Anil Agarwal-led mining major has announced its second interim dividend of ₹19.5 per share for the financial year 2022-23. The metals and mining company's total payout would stand at ₹7,250 crore.

Network18 Media & Investments: The media company posted a consolidated loss of ₹3 crore for the June quarter of 2022 compared to a profit of ₹10 crore a year ago, dented by increased investments in content, marketing, and team expansion.

Grasim Industries: The Aditya Birla Group flagship company has received its board approval to enter into the B2B e-commerce platform for the building materials segment with an investment of ₹2,000 crore over the next 5 years.

Artson Engineering: The company has bagged a purchase order of ₹6.76 crore from Hindalco Industries for supplying of equipment for manufacturing of two heat exchangers for its Dahej plant.

Delta Corp: The stock will continue to remain under F&O ban list as the counter has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

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

Wall Street rises on robust earnings

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. stocks closed higher with more than 2% gain as market sentiment was boosted by strong corporate earnings. However, investors remained concerned about higher inflation and a policy tightening by the Federal Reserve which may impact companies’ profitability going ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.4%, the S&P 500 added 2.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 3.1%.

Asian shares rally on firm global cues

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were in an upbeat mood on Wednesday, bolstered by a strong rally in U.S. and European markets in overnight trade. The market sentiment was boosted by strong earnings by American companies, which eased concerns about an aggressive rate hike by the Federal Reserve after U.S. CPI data showed that inflation hit a four-decade high in June.

Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 topped the chart with a 2.35% gain. The market saw a surge in buying ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision on Thursday, which is expected to maintain its ultra-loose policy stance to support the economy. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9%, the Straits Times in Singapore rose nearly 1%, and Australia’s ASX 200 rallied 1.2%.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.7%, while Taiwan Weighted and Jakarta Composite in Indonesia surged 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.

Markets in mainland China were also trading higher, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component rising 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Crude oil prices edge lower

The price of Brent and U.S. crude fell in early trade on Wednesday, hovering around $100 per barrel, amid fear of recession due to rate hikes by the central banks globally. The weak demand outlook in the backdrop of Covid restriction in China, the world’s largest oil consumer, also dented sentiments.

In Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the Brent oil for September delivery dropped 0.1% to $107.3 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude September futures were down 0.3% at $100.45 a barrel.

FIIs turned net buyers, DIIs net sellers

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their gaining streak in the Indian equity market for the second day on July 19, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers. As per the exchange data, FIIs net purchased shares worth ₹976.40 crore, while DIIs net sold shares worth ₹100.73 crore.

Corporate results

The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings include IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Ceat, Lloyds Steels Industries, Mastek, Havells India, Tata Communications, and Hathway Cable & Datacom. Among others, Century Plyboards, Gland Pharma, Agro Tech Foods, JSW Ispat Special Products, MIC Electronics, Newgen Software Technologies, Oracle Financial Services Software, Rane Engine Valve, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Sagar Cements, Sasken Technologies, Syngene International, and Som Distilleries & Breweries will be in focus ahead of quarterly earnings on July 20.