Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens on 17th August
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are expected to open marginally lower on August 17 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a negative start for the broader market with a loss of 46 points.
The BSE Sensex gained 137 points to close Wednesday’s session at 65,539 points, while the Nifty50 closed 30 points higher at 19,465 points, trading near its 200-day moving average of 19,602 points and trying to sustain the ongoing momentum.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may get support at 19,358, followed by 19,319 and 19,256.
In case of an upside, 19,485 can be the key resistance, and then 19,524, followed by 19,587.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today.
We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.
GIFT Nifty
The GIFT Nifty indicates a marginally negative start for the broader index with a loss of 46 points after the Nifty closed 30 points higher at 19,465 points on August 16.
GIFT Nifty futures stood at 19,429 points.
US Markets
Stock futures were near flat on Wednesday night as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest commentary that future rate hikes are not out of the picture.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20 points, or 0.06 percent. S&P 500 futures traded near the flat line, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched lower by 0.07 percent.
Computer networking giant Cisco Systems gained in after-hours trading, advancing about 2 percent.
The company posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
Wolfspeed plunged 14 percent following the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, which missed expectations on the bottom line.
The after-hours moves follow a second consecutive losing session for the three major averages.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.76 percent, while the Dow shed 0.52 percent and the Nasdaq Composite 1.15 percent.
The markets reflected investors’ concerns after officials said in the central bank’s July meeting minutes that additional tightening may be necessary to bring down inflation.
The federal funds rate is currently in a range between 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent.
European Markets
European markets closed marginally lower on Wednesday as investors digested UK inflation data.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the session down 0.1 percent, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions. Media stocks led the losses, down around 0.9 percent, while retail stocks rose 0.9 percent.
The headline consumer price index reading was in line with the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters, and comes after the cooler-than-expected 7.9 percent figure for June.
The Stoxx 600 closed 0.9 percent lower in the previous session, a one-month low for the index, with most sectors in negative territory. Basic resources slid 1.5 percent as banks and utilities both fell 1.2 percent.
Markets will also be keeping an eye on the euro zone’s second gross domestic product reading for the second quarter and the UK house price index, both set for release later in the day.
Asia-Pacific markets saw a sell-off on Wednesday, mirroring moves on Wall Street after a decline in US banks.
The US stocks, meanwhile, gained slightly as traders awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting.
The FTSE closed 0.44 percent lower at 7,356 points and the DAX closed 0.14 percent higher at 15,789 points on Wednesday.
Asian Markets
Asia-Pacific markets saw a sell-off on Wednesday, mirroring moves on Wall Street after a decline in US banks.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo dropped 2 percent, and Bank of America dropped 3 percent.
The action came after Fitch warned it may have to downgrade credit rating dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase.
Last week, Moody’s lowered its rating on 10 U.S. banks while putting other big institutions on a watchlist for potential downgrades.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.46% to end at 31,766, the first time it has went below the 32,000 mark in over a month, while the Topix closed down 1.29 percent at 2,260.84.
This is despite business sentiment improving in July, according to the Reuters Tankan survey.
South Korea’s Kospi came back from a public holiday 1.76 percent down and closed at 2,525.64, while the Kosdaq saw a larger loss of 2.59 percent and finished at 878.29, its lowest level since July 11.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.5 percent, closing at 7,195 and notching its third day of losses in four days.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.31 percent in its final hour, while mainland Chinese markets were also lower, with the CSI 300 index 0.73 percent down and ending at 3,818.33.
China saw its house price index fall into contraction territory for the first time since April, dropping 0.1 percent year-on-year.
Strong Listing | SBFC Finance closes with 62% premium on debut
MSME-focussed non-banking finance company SBFC Finance attracted huge interest from investors on its debut on August 16 as the stock settled on the first day with 62 percent gains despite volatility in the equity markets.
The stock, as expected, opened higher at Rs 82, up 44 percent over issue price of Rs 57 on the NSE.
It maintained its opening price, which was also its day’s low, throughout the session and hit an intraday high of Rs 95.45, up 67.5 percent.
At the close, the stock was 61.75 percent higher at Rs 92.20 on the NSE, while on the BSE, it was at Rs 92.21, up 61.77 percent.
In terms of volumes, SBFC Finance traded with a volume of 20.44 crore equity shares on the NSE and 1.09 crore shares on the BSE.
Antfin transfers 10.3% stake to Paytm chief Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba group firm Antfin has transferred its 10.3 percent stake in One97 Communications to the fintech firm’s founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, according to a regulatory filing.
The deal turns One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand name, into a majorly Indian-owned company from being majorly owned by Chinese entities.
Antfin will continue to hold the economic rights of the stake that is being transferred to Sharma.
We, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V., one of the shareholders of One 97 Communication Limited, hereby file the disclosure in the format prescribed under Regulation 29(2) of SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011, with respect to the disposal of 65,335,101 equity shares of the Company…” the filing said on Wednesday.
The transaction was completed on August 14, which brought the total stake of Antfin to 13.49 per cent from 23.79 per cent earlier, the filing said.
The deal makes the Sharma family the biggest shareholder in the company with a 19.55 per cent stake.
The stake divested by Antfin has been transferred to Sharma and his family members-owned overseas entity Resilient Asset Management BV.
Resilient Asset in return will issue debt instrument OCDs (optionally convertible debentures) to Antfin.
Sharma held a little over 9 per cent stake in Paytm before the deal.
Pursuant to this transaction, there would be no change in the management or control of Paytm, since Sharma would continue as Managing Director and CEO, and the existing board would continue as it is.
Govt planning to sell IRFC shares via OFS: Official
The government is planning to sell a part of its holding in the state-owned Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) through an offer for sale (OFS) in the current fiscal, an official said on Wednesday.
The government currently holds an 86.36 per cent stake in the financing arm of the Indian Railways.
The official said that an inter-ministerial group (IMG) comprising senior officers from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Railways Ministry has started consultations to decide on the quantum of stake dilution.
To make the central public sector enterprise compliant with Sebi’s minimum public shareholding (MPS) norm, the government has to dilute its 11.36 per cent stake in IRFC.
As per MPS norm, a listed entity must have a minimum public float of 25 per cent within five years of listing.
We are assessing investor appetite before deciding on the quantum of dilution,” the official told PTI.
Shares of IRFC were trading at Rs 50.97 a share, up 0.14 per cent over the previous close on BSE.
At the current market price, sell of 11.36 per cent would fetch the government around Rs 7,600 crore.
The government listed IRFC on stock exchanges in January 2021.
The share sale consisted of a fresh issue of shares by the company and an additional 4.55 per cent stake dilution by the government.
IRFC reported a net profit of Rs 1,557 crore in the quarter ended June, down 6 per cent from 1,660 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal Shares of the company hit its lifetime high of Rs 52.70 in early trade on Wednesday.
The share price has risen 38 per cent this month.
GQG picks up 8.1% in Adani Power for $1.1 billion
US-based boutique investment firm GQG Partners along with other investors on Wednesday bought an 8.1 per cent stake in Adani Power Ltd for over Rs 9,000 crore (USD 1.1 billion) as the marquee investor shrugged off damning report of a US short seller to invest in billionaire Gautam Adani’s group.
GQG Partners and other investors bought 31.2 crore shares of Adani Power in a block deal one of the largest ever secondary market equity transactions — stock market data showed.
Adani Power is the fourth firm of the ports-to-energy conglomerate where GQG has invested since May.
Promoter Adani family, which held 74.97 percent in the firm, sold 31.2 crore or an 8.1 percent stake at an average price of Rs 279.17 per share.
Oil Prices
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors weighed worries about China’s embattled economy against expectations of tighter supply in the United States.
Brent crude futures edged up 27 cents to $85.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) crept 29 cents higher to $81.28 a barrel.
Both benchmarks fell more than 1 percent in the previous session to their lowest since August 8.
China’s sluggish economy is in focus, after retail sales, industrial output and investment figures failed to match expectations, fueling concern over a deeper, longer-lasting slowdown in growth.
This July activity data has prompted concerns that China may struggle to meet its growth target of about 5 percent for the year without more fiscal stimulus.
China’s central bank made a marginal cut to interest rates after data that highlighted intensifying pressure on the economy, mainly from the property sector, though analysts say the cut was too small to make a meaningful difference.
Both the OPEC+ group, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are banking on China, the world’s biggest oil importer, to galvanize crude demand over the rest of 2023.
Dollar Index
The Dollar index traded 0.04 percent higher in futures at 103.37, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 83.20.
Gold Prices
Gold clawed higher on Wednesday on a weaker dollar and bond yields, recovering some ground after retreating below the key $1,900 level in the last session following robust US economic data.
Bullion traders also positioned for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting for further cues on interest rate strategy, as well as U.S. homebuilding and factory output data later in the day.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent, to $1,905.25 per ounce, while US gold futures were up 0.1 percent, at 1,936.60.
Gold has found short-term support from a weaker dollar as the pound strengthened after data showed British core inflation stayed strong in July, said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.
Non-yielding gold, priced in dollars, also gained as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields retreated from near 10-month highs.
“Economic data out of the US thus far has provided room for rates to be kept high for longer.
We have the U.S. retail sales data yesterday pushing back against recession concerns and potentially keeping safe haven flows at bay,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG.
FIIs and DIIs
Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 722.76 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased Rs 2,406.19 crore worth of stocks on August 16, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
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