Hi there! Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Saloni Goel and here is what we have to start your day.
– Nifty market-cap tops Rs 100 lakh crore
– Clix threatens to walk out of LVB deal talks
– MSCI includes 12 Indian stocks in its standard index
AND
– Amazon alleges insider trade in Future Retail stock
And there is more. But first, a quick glance at the state of the markets…
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 16 points lower at 7 am (IST), signalling indecisiveness on Dalal Street.
ELSEWHERE
The global stocks rally showed signed of stalling in Asia as investors assessed a deteriorating Covid situation in many large economies and overheated equity markets. Shares opened mixed across Asia. Japanâs Topix slid 0.1%, South Koreaâs Kospi fell 0.3% while Australiaâs S&P/ASX200 rose 0.1%.
US stocks had a mixed show overnight. Nasdaq rose 2%, as investors switched back to technology stocks from economically-sensitive sectors. Dow fell 23.29 points, or 0.08%, to 29,397.63 while S&P500 gained 27.13 points, or 0.77%.
IN OIL MARKET
Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, taking the week’s gains to more than 12 per cent on growing hopes that the world’s major producers will hold off on a planned supply increase as soaring cases of COVID-19 dent fuel demand. US WTI crude futures climbed 35 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $ 41.80 a barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 31 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $ 44.11 a barrel.
IN CURRENCIES
The rupee declined 18 paise to close at 74.36 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking strengthening American currency in the overseas market and higher crude prices.
The dollar retained its gains while the safe-haven yen weakened. The Australian dollar was flat versus the greenback as was the New Zealand dollar. The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in a week.
AND IN BULLION
Gold and silver prices edged lower on Wednesday in Indian markets tracking muted global trend. On MCX, gold futures fell 0.15% to Rs 50,425 while silver futures declined 0.35% to Rs 62,832 a kg. In international markets, gold slipped to $ 1,864.46 an ounce.
All in all, the trade setup looked weak on Dalal Street. On Wednesday, Nifty50 climbed for the eighth straight session in a row, but formed a âHanging Manâ candle on the daily chart, signalling indecisiveness at higher levels
LET ME NOW GIVE YOU A HEADS-UP on some of the top news we are tracking at this hour.
⦠Global index services provider MSCI has included 12 Indian stocks to its standard index as part of its semiannual review. These 12 stocks are expected to see an inflow of about Rs 17,300 crore by the end of this month, according to analystsâ estimates. Stocks such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, IPCA Laboratories, Muthoot Finance, ACC, Adani Green, Balkrishna Industries, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, MRF, PI Industries, Trent and Yes Bank are the new entrants in the MSCI Standard Index, while Bosch and LIC Housing will be excluded.
⦠The market value of all Nifty companies topped Rs 100 lakh crore for the first time on Wednesday as stocks closed at an all-time high. Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 6,027 crore, the highest single-day purchase in nearly three months. The Nifty is already the fourth most expensive global index on a trailing 12-month basis after Germany, US and France.
⦠Amazon has asked the market regulator Sebi to investigate Future Retail Ltd for insider trading, and accused the Kishore Biyani retail firm of breaching confidentiality by leaking the interim award of Singapore International Arbitration Centre to Reliance Industries.
⦠AION Capital-backed Clix Capital could walk away from the proposed merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank if discussions on the deal continue to drag on, without a firm conclusion timeline. âWe have to decide this urgently; we are happy to walk away from the deal and get on with our lives. This cannot go on forever,â Pramod Bhasin, the founder of Clix Capital, told ET.
⦠The government is finalising a fresh set of stimulus measures for key stressed sectors such as hospitality, retail, aviation and tourism that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The key element of the package, which could be announced soon, is a credit guarantee scheme on the lines of the one offered to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, said government officials aware of the deliberations.
⦠Over 8.5 lakh employees, majorly from PSU banks, will get a 15% pay hike, with the conclusion of the 11th Bipartite Wage Negotiations on Wednesday. After three years of intense negotiations, the UFBU, which represents four bank officer associations and five workman unions, and the IBA on July 22 entered into an MoU for an annual wage hike of 15%. The wage hike would be for five years starting November 1, 2017.
LASTLY, AN UPDATE ON ALL THE STOCKS BUZZING THIS MORNING
⦠L&T has emerged the lowest bidder to construct a 20-km 4-lane road bridge across the river Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Phulbari, in what will be the countryâs longest bridge on a river.
⦠ONGC Videsh has agreed to acquire participating interest in a Senegal offshore oilfield for $ 45 million.
⦠The Competition Commission of India has approved Googleâs Rs 33,737 crore investment in Jio Platforms for a 7.73% stake
⦠Outstanding bonds of the Future Group traded at yields as high as 50% this week, pointing to mounting investor concerns over the fate of the deal with RIL in the aftermath of Amazonâs objections to the acquisition.
⦠Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani on Wednesday said he would remain at the helm of the IT services provider for âas long as required,â
Thatâs it for now. For all the market news through the day, do track ETMarkets.com. Have a great day ahead! Bye-bye