Sensex, Nifty to open higher; Vedant Fashions debut eyed

Indian equity benchmarks are expected to open higher on Wednesday following a rebound in global equities, as oil prices dropped amid signs of easing geopolitical tensions. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that it was withdrawing some troops from the Ukraine border. The positive trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 39.5 points, or 0.23%, higher at 17,387 on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:05 AM.

On Tuesday, the domestic benchmarks rallied more than 3% amid optimism about easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The correction in crude prices and bond yields also boosted market sentiment. The market also witnessed a surge in buying amid bargain hunting after a strong sell-off in the previous session. Snapping two sessions' losing streak, the BSE Sensex closed 1,736 points, or 3.08%, higher at 58,142, and the NSE Nifty surged 510 points, or 3.03%, to 17,352. The top five gainers on the BSE Sensex were Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro and Titan Company. On the sectoral front, all the indices closed in positive terrain, while rate sensitive auto and bank stocks gained the most.

Stocks to watch

Torrent Power: The company has acquired 100% stake in special purpose vehicle Visual Percept Solar Projects. The transaction includes acquisition of a 25 MW solar power plant for about Rs 163 crore which was done as per the share purchase agreement between Torrent Power, and Blue Daimond Properties and Balrampur Chini Mills.

Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB): The state-owned lender has declared bad asset IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company, with outstanding dues of over ₹148 crore. The bank has declared the dues as a fraud account and reported it to the Reserve Bank.

Burger King India: The restaurants company has closed its qualified institutional placement issue and fixed the issue price at ₹129.25 per share, a 5% discount to the floor price of ₹136.05 apiece.

SpiceJet: The low-cost carrier reported a consolidated net profit of ₹42.45 crore in the December quarter of 2021 against a loss of ₹66.78 crore a year ago. Revenue from operations rose 34.78% to ₹2,204.68 crore for the quarter compared with ₹1,635.79 crore in the last year.

Vedant Fashions: The operator of Manyavar brand will make its debut on the domestic bourses today. The company raised ₹3,149.19 crore through its public issue last week, which received tepid response from investors. The final issue price has been fixed at ₹866 per share.

Redington India: Investor Marina IV (Singapore) Pte has offloaded 2.14% equity stake in the company via open market transactions on February 11.

Stocks under F&O ban: As many as four stocks - BHEL, Escorts, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and SAIL – will be under the F&O ban today.

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

Wall Street climbs on easing Ukraine tensions

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices closed higher as signs of easing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine boosted market sentiment. The sentiment was also lifted after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced withdrawal of thousands of troops from the Ukrainian border. Snapping three sessions losing streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.22% higher, the S&P 500 surged 1.58%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.53%.

Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly higher on Wednesday, tracking firm cues from the U.S. and European markets, as Russia indicated it was pulling back some troops from exercises near Ukraine. The ease in crude oil prices and bond yields also lifted market sentiment.

The Japanese stock market was the best performer in the regional market, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 rising over 2% in early trade.

South Korea’s KOSPI added 1.7%, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong surged 1.45%. Australia’s ASX 200 index rose 0.65%, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore traded flat with negative bias.

In mainland China, the Shenzhen component and the Shanghai composite traded gained 0.5% and 0.75%, respectively, in early deals.

FIIs turns net sellers, DIIs remain net buyers

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in the Indian equity market on February 15, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers. As per the data available on the NSE, FIIs sold shares worth ₹2,298.7 crore, while DIIs net purchased shares worth ₹4,411.6 crore.

Brent crude retreats from record high

Global benchmark Brent crude fell from seven-year high on Wednesday as easing fear of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of the major oil producers, boosted investors’ sentiments.

During the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for March contracts slipped 0.11% to $91.97 a barrel, while the Brent oil futures for April contracts dropped by 0.18% to $93.10 per barrel.

In the overnight trade, Brent crude futures and U.S. WTI crude dropped sharply on reports that Russia was withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border.