Russia & Ukraine keep the Indian stock market at bay!
Good Morning Everyone, Global tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine have been holding the Stock market within a tight range. after the massive fall on Monday followed by the rise on Tuesday!
Seems like this is going to be similar for this month until the global scenario calms down.
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Global Markets:
US stock futures bounced on Friday after the US Secretary of State agreed to a meeting with Russia's foreign minister, raising hopes for a diplomatic solution to the East-West standoff over Ukraine. S&P 500 futures jumped 0.5 percent on the news and Nasdaq futures rose 0.6 percent.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week but remained below pre-pandemic levels as labor market conditions continue to tighten. The first increase in a month reported by the Labor Department on Thursday did not change economists' expectations for another month of solid employment gains in February.
Markets have been rattled by a rates outlook that could hold as many as seven Federal Reserve increases in the year ahead. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard on Thursday reiterated his call for the Fed funds rate to be raised to 1 percent by July to combat stubbornly high inflation and Fed funds futures price about a 1/3 chance of a 50 bps hike next month to begin.
Asian markets slipped on Friday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 percent, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.4 percent after the country reported a fifth straight month of inflation, with energy prices posting their biggest annual rise in 41 years. Korean and Australian shares each fell 1 percent.
Russian-backed rebels and Kyiv's forces traded accusations that each had fired across a ceasefire line on Thursday. Also, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accepted an invitation to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov next week "provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine," the State Department said.
Oil prices retreated on Friday after wild swings during the week, as the prospect of extra supply from Iran returning to the market outweighed fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which could disrupt supply. Brent crude futures were last down 0.5 percent at $92.47 a barrel, more than 4 percent below Monday's peak, and US crude fell 0.5 percent to $91.26 a barrel.
Indian Market:
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening to Nifty today.
Food and beverage company Nestle India is considering ‘judicious price hikes’ going ahead as it battles decade-high inflation in several raw materials. According to Managing Director Suresh Narayanan, inflation is here to stay and, hence, the company is looking at cost-cutting measures and price hikes.
“Food inflation is a matter of concern and it is something that we have to watch out for. Of course, as a company, we have got the necessary competencies and the ability to manage this. Nevertheless, it is important to note that food inflation and commodity inflation are here to stay for a while at least,” said Narayanan while addressing a call after reporting its fourth-quarter results.
Nestle, said its MD, is grappling with inflation in key commodities and raw materials such as arabica coffee, edible oil, sugar, wheat flour, SMP, aluminum, plastic-PP, paper, etc. The prices of several of these products are at their ten-year high, he added.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have made net selling of Rs 1,242.10 crore worth of shares, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have net bought Rs 901.10 crore worth of shares in the Indian equity market on February 17.
Stock Specific News:
Lupin | The company received approval from US FDA for a supplemental new drug application for SOLOSEC (secnidazole) in adolescents for both the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in females and trichomoniasis.
HDFC | A minor increase in interest rates, which are already at "historic lows", will not impact loan disbursal or the demand for homes, HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, said at the CII-Anarock Real Estate Conclave.
Hero MotoCorp | Hero Electric has withdrawn its application seeking an injunction against Hero MotoCorp from using the Hero brand name for its Electric Vehicles. The arbitral tribunal to resolve the dispute between Hero MotoCorp and Hero Electric has been formed. The Delhi HC has formed a 3-member tribunal of retired judges.
Torrent Power | CRISIL has upgraded the long-term credit rating of non-convertible debentures and long-term bank facilities of the company to 'AA+/Stable' from 'AA/Positive' considering continued strong profitability and sustained improvement in the leverage levels. CRISIL has reaffirmed its rating on the short-term bank facilities and commercial paper program at 'A1+'.
Ambuja Cements | Consolidated profit fell sharply by 55.5 percent to Rs 431 crore in Q4CY21, against Rs 968 crore in Q4CY20. Revenue rose 2.3 percent to Rs 7,625 crore, against Rs 7,453 crore during the same period. The company has approved an investment of Rs 3,500 crore, for a cement grinding expansion plan. The company approved the final dividend at Rs 6.30 per share.
Veritas India | Consolidated profit in Q3FY22 fell 40 percent YoY to Rs 17.8 crore, against Rs 29.5 crore in Q3FY21. Revenue increased 9 percent to Rs 459 crore during the quarter, up from Rs 420.7 crore in the same period last fiscal.
Surya India | Satyaprakash Gaur has tendered his resignation as Chief Financial Officer of the company, due to personal commitments and to pursue his other professional endeavors.
Wipro | The company has appointed Jasjit Singh Kang as Head of digital operations & platforms of its iCORE (Integrated Cloud Infrastructure, Digital Operations, Risk and Enterprise Cyber Security Services) business. Also, the technology major secured a five-year deal win to drive transformation for ABB’s Information Systems digital workplace services. With this, Wipro shares ended 0.11 percent higher at Rs 564.85.
Bajaj Consumer Care | The company has launched a new product, Bajaj Coco Onion, a non-sticky coconut hair oil.
KRBL | The company’s stock ended 6.25 percent lower and was the worst hit on Nifty500.
Schaeffler India | The industrial and automotive supplier’s shares closed 8.32 percent higher after reporting stellar quarterly earnings.
Advani Hotels | Shares of the hotel company settled 11 percent higher after marquee investor Radhakishan S Damani and his family increased their stake to 5.17 percent in the company through open market purchases.
Tata Motors | JP Morgan has initiated its coverage on shares of Tata Motors with an 'overweight' rating and target price of Rs 630 which implies an upside of around 26 percent from Wednesday's closing price of Rs 498.20. With this, the stock had risen about 3 percent intraday but ended off its day’s high, up 0.25 percent.