SGX Nifty down 15 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

An overnight recovery in US stocks and expiry of weekly F&O contracts at home are likely to influence stock action on Dalal Street on Thursday.

Here’s breaking down the pre-market actions.

STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals weak start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 14 points, or 0.12 per cent, down at 7.30 hours (IST), in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a weak start on Thursday

Tech View: Nifty50 forms small bullish candle
Analysts said while the bias remains negative, Thursday's being the weekly expiry day, Nifty may see a short-covering bounce. Support for the index stays in the 11,250-11,155 range, they said, adding that any upside for Nifty50 from here on would be contingent upon a sustained move above the 11,300 level.

Asian shares rise tracking Wall-St gains
Asian markets rose on Thursday, after US stocks reversed course from a three-day losing streak that led the technology-heavy Nasdaq into correction territory. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 56 points, or 0.24 per cent to 24,528.59. China's Shanghai Composite rose 18.67 points or 0.57 per cent to 3,272.79. Japan's Nikkei added 128 points or 0.56 per cent to 23,160.54.

Oil prices drop in early trade
Oil prices slip, paring the overnight gains, on worries about fuel demand after data showed US crude stockpiles rose last week, rather than dropping as expected. US WTI crude fell 20 cents or 0.5 per cent to $37.85 a barrel after climbing 3.5 per cent on Wednesday. Brent futures fell 14 cents or 0.3 per cent to $40.65 a barrel.

US stocks settled higher
In overnight trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 439.58 points, or 1.60 per cent, to 27,940.47. The S&P500 index added 67.12 points, or 2.01 per cent, to 3,398.96. The Nasdaq Composite surged 293.87 points, or 2.71 per cent, to 11,141.56.

Route Mobile IPO fully subscribed on Day 1
The Rs 600 crore IPO by Route Mobile was fully subscribed on Day 1 of the bidding process on Wednesday. As per data available with NSE, the issue received bids for 1,22,31,600 shares, compared to the total issue size of 1,21,73,912 shares. The IPO, which is being sold at Rs 345-Rs 350 per share, is seeking a valuation of 29 times PE on FY20 basis (fully diluted)

Happiest Minds IPO subscribed 151 times, closes
The Rs 702-crore initial public offering of Happiest Minds Technologies has received stellar response from all investors. The issue has subscribed 150.98 times so far on September 9, the last day of bidding. The quota for non-institutional investors (NIIs) was subscribed over 351 times. The quota for retail individual investors (RIIs) was subscribed 71 times and for QIB more than 77 times.

FIIs sell Rs 959.09 cr worth of stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 959.09 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 263.97 crore, data suggests.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: Snapping its two-day losing streak, the rupee rebounded by 5 paise and settled at 73.55 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, even as the domestic equity market was trading with significant losses.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield fell 1.11 per cent to 5.98 after trading in 5.98-6.08 range

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.39 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.80-4.05 per cent.

DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH

• Japan Foreign Bond Investment 05/SEP (05.30 am)
• Australia Consumer Inflation Expectations SEP (06:30 am)
• ECB Interest Rate Decision (05:15 pm)
• ECB Press Conference (06.00 pm)
• US Initial Jobless Claims 05/SEP (06:00 pm)
• US PPI MoM AUG (06:00 pm)
• US Jobless Claims 4-Week Average 05/SEP (06:00 pm)
• US Core PPI YoY AUG (06.00 pm)
• ECB President Lagarde Speech (10.30 pm)

MACROS
50,000 Chinese troops on border… China has amassed 50,000 troops and a range of aircraft and missile systems along the LAC. But the top echelons of Indian government feel the threshold for a conflict has not yet been reached though India is prepared for any eventuality. India has also clearly conveyed to China that any attempt to breach the perimeter around its forward posts along LAC will be treated as an act of hostility which will get a professional Army response.

Loans to women treble…. Gender parity in the top echelons of India’s commercial banking may still be some distance away, but the latest borrower profiles from the formal lending system show that women empowerment has progressed beyond tokenism in the past six years. The number of women borrowers has more than trebled, although most accounts are smallticket loans taken by women for a variety of micro businesses

EPFO okays 8.5% interest for FY20… Retirement fund body EPFO has recommended that the government pay an 8.5% interest to subscribers for 2019-20 as announced earlier, but in two instalments instead of the usual one as market volatility has affected its income from equity investment. The government-managed fund has recommended that 8.15% interest, from its income from debt investment, be credited immediately into the accounts of its 50 million subscribers. The balance 0.35% will be paid in December, from the sale of investment in exchange-traded equity funds, it said.

Sharp rise in airline occupancy… India’s airlines have seen a sharp improvement in demand so far this month as states have progressively relaxed curbs and the number of flights has risen, prompting more business and leisure travel, beyond those flying due to personal emergencies. Maharashtra has doubled the number of domestic flights allowed out of Mumbai, for instance. Some carriers said passenger loads have risen as much as 10 percentage points in the early days of the month along with an increase in the number of flights.

Covid claims make health insurers bleed… Health insurers have been swamped with Covid-19 claims since April. So much so that Covid-19 has emerged as one of the leading ailment categories under which claims have been registered in FY21. Between April and August this year, ‘novel coronavirus’ could have been the fourth leading claim category.

India-US trade deal post Nov… India and the US are unlikely to firm up a mini trade deal before the presidential election in the US in November, officials said, although New Delhi has proposed a limited trade package to Washington. ndia and the US are aiming for a free trade agreement in the long run and have been working on an initial trade deal for almost two years amid a plethora of bilateral issues.

Financial services at doorstep unveiled… Financial services will be a part of the doorstep banking services available to public sector bank customers from October. Releasing the EASE 2.0 Index rankings on PSB performance from March 2018 to 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the move is seen particularly benefiting senior citizens and those in the ‘divyang’ category. Currently, only non-financial services such as pickup of cheques and demand draft are available through doorstep banking agents.

India Inc’s share pledges on a high… Pledging of shares by promoters in NSE-listed companies saw a surge in August, with the value of stock pledged climbing to Rs 2.77 lakh crore. Data compiled by primeinfobase.com showed that the quantum of stock pledged increased to 1.86% of the total market capitalisation from 1.23% as on July 31. While Vedanta contributed a major portion to the increase in pledge for delisting Vedanta, the others were in need of liquidity as the Covid-19 outbreak caused a decline in cash flows

Equity funds see highest monthly outflow… Equity mutual funds saw highest monthly outflows in four-and-a-half years in August as investors uncertain about the near-term market prospects continued to redeem from these products. These schemes saw net redemptions to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore in August after Rs 2,480 crore in July 2020. Debt schemes saw outflows worth Rs 3,908 crore, mainly from liquid and overnight funds.