Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens on 22nd August
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open marginally higher on August 22 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 15 points.
The BSE Sensex gained 267 points to close the previous session at 65,216 points, while the Nifty50 closed 83 points higher at 19,393 points, trading near its 200-day moving average of 19,589 points and trying to sustain the ongoing momentum.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may get support at 19,322, followed by 19,292 and 19,242. In case of an upside, 19,421 can be the key resistance, then 19,452 and 19,502.
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 positive start for the broader index with a gain of 15 points after the Nifty closed 83 points higher at 19,393 points on August 21.
GIFT Nifty futures stood at 19,391 points.
US Markets
US stock futures traded flat Monday night Indian time as the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 snapped a four-day negative streak, in what has been a losing month for all the major averages.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 33 points, or 0.1 percent.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures both ticked down 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite posted its biggest advance of the month during Monday’s main trading session, rising 1.6 percent.
The S&P 500 added close to 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, the Dow ticked down 0.1 percent.
The broad market index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were able to post gains even as the yield on the 10-year Treasury reached its highest level since November 2007, gaining about 9 basis points to trade at 4.34 percent.
Tech shares historically struggle in a high-rate environment, making the tandem rise with yields on Monday more striking for Wall Street.
European Markets
European stock markets closed marginally higher on Monday after slipping to a six-week low at the end of last week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.1 percent higher, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions. Auto stocks led gains, up 1.1 percent, as construction and material stocks dipped 0.6 percent.
China’s central bank cut its one-year loan prime rate by less than expected Monday and left its five-year rate unchanged.
Economists expected a 15 basis point cut to both due to default risks in the embattled property sector, and raised questions over whether China will deliver a stimulus-led economic turnaround.
Zoe Gillespie, chartered wealth manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said the moves showed a “lack of ambition,” but that China faced a “tough play”.
Asian Markets
Asia-Pacific markets largely rose even as yields of US 10-year Treasury bonds hit levels not seen in over a decade.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield hit a high of 4.34 percent, reaching its highest level since November 2007.
This is notable as higher bond yields generally mean lower stock prices.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.86 percent, while the Topix rose 0.72 percent. Overnight, SoftBank Group’s chip unit Arm filed for a Nasdaq listing that is expected to be the largest of the year.
South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.88 percent, and the Kosdaq was 0.84 percent up.
However, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 extended losses from Monday and slid 0.19 percent.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index point to a rebound for the index and stood at 17,680, compared with the HSI’s close of 17,623.29.
India’s foreign trade crosses $800 billion mark in first six months of 2023: GTRI
A healthy growth in India’s services segments has helped the country’s total exports and imports of goods and services to cross the $800 billion mark during the first half of 2023, despite a slowdown in global demand, think tank GTRI said in a report on Monday.
According to the analysis of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), exports of goods and services rose by 1.5 percent to $385.4 billion during January-June this year, as against $379.5 billion in January-June 2022.
Imports, however, dipped by 5.9 percent to $415.5 billion during the six months of this year, as against $441.7 billion in January-June 2022.
India’s foreign trade (exports and imports of merchandise and services) reached $800.9 billion during January-June 2023, exhibiting a decline of 2.5 percent over the same period last year (January-June 2022),” the report said.
India to have 500 million payment consumers, 100 million merchants soon: Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma
India has an opportunity to become a net exporter of payment technology, software and hardware even as the country is expected to reach 500 million payment consumers and 100 million merchants, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in a letter to shareholders in its Annual Report.
“True economic GDP growth benefit of reaching the last person in the financial system will be our success. We have set our mission to enable 500 million Indians to get benefits of mainstream economic growth. This begins by enabling them with mobile payments and helping extend various other financial services like loan, insurance etc. to them,” Sharma said in the letter.
Paytm has seen its lending platform business take off helping the company reduce its losses before its earlier committed timeline of EBITDA positivity before ESOP.
It has seen around Rs 15,000 crore worth of loans disbursed through its platform.
The Noida-based mobile payments firm has also seen its merchant subscription reach eight million through various payment-facilitating devices such as PoS devices and soundboxes.
The soundbox announces successful UPI payments based on QR codes and has been a runaway success and has now been followed by its competitors.
Adani increases stake in flagship firm to 69.87%
Billionaire Gautam Adani-led promoter group has increased its stake in the group’s flagship firm as the ports-to-energy conglomerate continues to recover from the effects of a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.
Promoter group has increased stake in Adani Enterprises Ltd from 67.65 percent to 69.87 percent, according to a stock exchange filing.
Promoter group firm Kempas Trade and Investment Ltd, which had a minimal stake in the firm, acquired 2.22 percent in the open market between August 7 and August 18, it said.
The stake increase comes at a time when US-based boutique investment firm GQG Partners has been buying shares in Adani group firms.
GQG has increased its stake in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) to 5.03 percent last month by way of a bulk deal, stock exchange filings showed.
GQG now has a stake in five of the 10 Adani Group firms. On August 16, it bought a 7.73 percent stake in Adani Power Ltd.
Promoter group firms Worldwide Emerging Market Holding and Afro ASIA Trade And Investments sold an 8.09 per cent stake in Adani Power through block deals on August 16.
Raamdeo Agrawal predicts a bigger boom in retail equity market
India’s retail equity market is on a swing and is on course to get bigger on the back of a boom in savings, Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said on August 21.
The country’s gross domestic savings are expected to grow to $103 trillion over the next 25 years. This number was around $12 trillion in the last 25 years, he said at Motilal Oswal Annual Global Conference.
There has been a spurt in demat accounts with more and more individuals entering the securities market.
The number of demat accounts shot up to 123 million in July 2023 from 41 million March 2020.
This is expected to double to around 250 million by 2028. And that will be 17 percent of the entire population, Agrawal said.
Aeroflex Industries raises Rs 103.7 crore from anchor investors ahead of IPO
Mumbai-based flexible flow solutions provider Aeroflex Industries has mopped up Rs 103.68 crore from 15 anchor investors on August 21, ahead of the IPO launch.
The 15 investors that participated in the anchor book included Nippon Life, Invesco, Winro Commercial India, Whiteoak Capital Mutual Fund, Bank of India Mutual Fund, Quatum State Investment Fund, Societe Generale, and Universal Sompo General Insurance Company.
“We have finalised the allocation of 95,99,980 equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 108 per equity share,” the metallic flexible flow solution products said in its filing to exchanges.
The company further said out of the total allocation of 95.99 lakh shares to anchor investors, 52.78 lakh shares were allocated to four domestic mutual funds through nine schemes.
Hotels sector records healthy growth in Q1, offers strong outlook for H2: Jefferies
It was a mix of successes and challenges for the Indian hotels sector in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.
Despite a dip in on-quarter performance because of seasonality, the sector maintained healthy year-on-year (YoY) growth in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) with a growth range of 12-24 percent, bolstered by higher Average Room Rates (ARRs), according to a Jefferies report.
While occupancy figures presented a mixed picture, the sector appears optimistic about a robust outlook for the second half (H2).
Welspun Enterprises completes 50.10% stake buy in Michigan Engineers for equity investment of Rs 137.1 crore
Welspun Enterprises Limited (WEL) said on August 21 that it has completed the acquisition of 50.10 percent equity shares of Michigan Engineers from Authum Investment & Infrastructure Limited and Sansaar Housing Finance Limited, for an equity investment of Rs 137.07 crore.
Upon completion of the acquisition of 50.10 percent equity shares of Michigan, Michigan will become a subsidiary of Welspun Enterprises Limited,” the company said in its exchange filing.
Welspun Enterprises, a part of the Welspun World, is an infrastructure development company focusing on Road, Water and Wastewater segments.
And, Michigan Engineers is a technology-based engineering, procurement and construction company with a focus on underground infrastructure, water infrastructure and sewage infrastructure projects.
The stake acquisition has been acquired in accordance with the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement that was inked in July this year, the filing noted.
Oil Prices
Oil prices edged higher on Monday as tighter supply reflected in fewer exports from Saudi Arabia and Russia and high heating oil prices outweighed concern over global demand growth.
Brent crude was up 52 cents to $85.32 a barrel at 1348 GMT and US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 65 cents at $81.90.
The September WTI contract expires on Tuesday and the more active October contract gained 49 cents to $81.15 a barrel.
Both front-month benchmark prices snapped a seven-week winning streak last week with a weekly loss of 2% on concern that China’s sluggish economic growth will curb oil demand, while the possibility of further increases to U.S. interest rate also continues to cast a shadow over the demand outlook.
Dollar Index
The Dollar index traded 0.06 percent lower in futures at 103.32, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 83.09.
Gold Prices
Gold prices hovered near a five-month low on Monday, as elevated bond yields pressured bullion, while investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later this week for more clarity on the interest rate path.
Spot gold was 0.1 percent lower at $1,887.09 per ounce. US gold futures were steady at $1,916.
We seeing some buying interest at these levels, but the buying interest is being limited because the charts remain bearish,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco.
FIIs and DIIs
Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,901.10 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased Rs 626.25 crore worth of stocks on August 21, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
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