Sensex, Nifty to rise; HDFC, IOC, Ashok Leyland, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Cipla, DLF, Emami shares eyed
The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are set to open higher on the first day of the August futures and options (F&O) contracts, following strong cues from global peers. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed, following a positive closing on Wall Street overnight despite a negative US GDP report, which suggests the Federal Reserve would be less aggressive in its policy stance going ahead. Back home, solid trends on SGX Nifty also indicated a gap-up opening for the domestic bourses, with SGX Nifty futures trading 215 points, or 1.27%, higher at 17,162 levels on the Singapore Stock Exchange at 8:10 AM. Investors will keep a close eye on earnings reports by HDFC, Indian Oil Corporation, Ashok Leyland, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Cipla, DLF, Emami, Exide Industries, among others, while rupee movement and trends in the crude market will be also on the radar.
On Thursday, the Indian benchmarks ended higher for the second straight session, led by strong gains in Bajaj twins- Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance. The market rally was driven by positive global cues as investors digested the Fed policy outcome, as well as strong earnings by largecap companies. The BSE Sensex rallied 1,041 points to settle at 56,858 and the NSE Nifty advanced 288 points to 16,930. Bajaj Finance was the top gainer on the Sensex pack, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Nestle. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy's, ITC, and Sun Pharma were among top laggards.
Stocks to watch
Vedanta: The metals and mining major reported a consolidated net profit of ₹4,421 crore for the June 2022 quarter, up 4.66% year-on-year (YoY). On the sequential basis, the profit declined 23.7% from ₹5,799 crore in the March quarter of FY22.
Punjab National Bank (PNB): The PSU bank’s net profit dropped 70% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹308.4 crore in April-June quarter due to rise in provisions for bad loans. Sequentially, net profit jumped 53% from ₹201.5 crore reported in January-March. The total income dropped to ₹21,294 crore as against ₹22,816 crore a year ago.
Telecom stocks: Shares of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance will be in focus as the 5G spectrum auction has now entered the fourth day as telecom operators are engaged in an aggressive bid to get airwaves used for both 2G and 4G services.
Religare Enterprises: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has slapped a fine of ₹60 crore on 10 entities in the fund diversion case at Religare Finvest (RFL), a subsidiary of Religare Enterprises. The former promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh have been asked to pay ₹10 crore each and restricted from accessing the capital market for a period of three years.
TVS Motor Company: The Chennai-based two- and three-wheeler major registered a consolidated net profit of ₹305.37 crore during the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, as against a loss of ₹ 10.55 crore in the year-ago period, owing to an increase in sales volume.
SpiceJet: A aircraft destined to Kandla in Gujarat safely aborted takeoff on the Mumbai airport's runway on Thursday, just a day after DGCA ordered the airline to operate not more than 50% of its flights for eight weeks to ensure "safe and reliable transport service". This was at least the ninth incident of technical malfunction on a SpiceJet aircraft in the last 40 days.
Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:
Wall Street extends rally
In the overnight trade, U.S. stocks settled higher for the second day after the macro data showed that the world’s largest economy contracted for the second straight quarter, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve may slow down rate hike program to support the ailing economy. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.9% at an annualised rate in June quarter, after a 1.6% decline in the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.03%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.21%, and the Nasdaq Composite settled 1.08% higher.
Asian shares mixed
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed in early trade on Friday, tracking positive closing on Wall Street amid easing fear of rate hike by the Federal Reserve going ahead as the U.S. economy contracted 0.9% at an annualised rate for the second straight quarter. However, concerns about global economic slowdown in the backdrop of ongoing war in Ukraine and Covid situation in China limited market gain.
Regional heavyweight Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.46%, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.7%, and Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.9%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was the top laggard in the regional market with a 1.1% loss, followed by the Straits Times in Singapore, which fell 0.26%.
Among others, the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia and Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.76% each.
Markets in mainland China were also trading lower, with the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component falling 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
Corporate results
The major companies that will release their June quarter earnings include HDFC, Indian Oil Corporation, Ashok Leyland, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Cipla, DLF, Emami, Exide Industries. Among others, CARE Ratings, CarTrade Tech, Cholamandalam Investment, CreditAccess Grameen, Deepak Fertilisers, Easy Trip Planners, 3i Infotech, Great Eastern Shipping, GMR Infrastructure, Godrej Agrovet, Heritage Foods, JK Paper, Mahindra Logistics, Metro Brands, Nazara Technologies, Piramal Enterprises, Rain Industries, Route Mobile, Strides Pharma Science, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, VST Industries, and Zydus Wellness will also be in focus ahead of their earnings report.