Markets are likely to open marginally higher after data showed that September consumer price inflation eased to its lowest level since January 2012 and better-than-expected second quarter earnings from Reliance Industries.
At 8:35AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty was up 37 points at 7,946
The rate of retail inflation in September eased to 6.46 per cent — the lowest since the series was launched in January 2012 — driven mainly by a significant drop in food prices and subdued demand for industrial goods. The rate, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), had stood at 7.73 per cent in August and 9.84 per cent in September last year.
Foreign investors were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 671 crore on Monday.
Asian stocks rebounded after the recent correction with the exception of Japanese shares which dropped to two-month lows on global growth concerns. The benchmark Nikkei was down nearly 1.5%. Hang Seng was trading nearly 1% higher while shares in mainland China were trading with marginal gains with the Shanghai COmposite up 0.3% while Straits Times was trading flat with positive bias.
US markets continued their losing streak on Monday with the S&P 500 closing below its 200-DMA for the first time since Nov 16, 2012. Investors continued to trim positions in riskier assets on worries that weak global demand may hurt earnings of US companies while the spread of Ebola also weighed on market sentiment. The Dow Jones ended down 223 points or 1.4% at 16,321, the S&P 500 closed 31 points or 1.7% at 1,875 and the Nasdaq slumped 63 points or 1.5% to end at 4,214.
Stocks to watch
Reliance Industries may see an uptick after it beat analysts’ expectations during the July-September quarter, with its profit increasing 1.7 per cent over the year-ago period. At Rs 5,972 crore, however, its net profit was 1.7 per cent higher than Rs 5,873 crore in the same period last year.
DLF may witness selling pressure after SEBI barred the real estate major and six of its top executives, including Chairman K P Singh, from accessing the capital market for three years. The Sebi order, after finding the company guilty of “active and deliberate suppression” of material information at the time of its public issue, leaves DLF out in the cold even as others capitalise on the current bull run.
Tata Power may see some action afte the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on October 13, 2014, has approved the issue of non-cumulative, redeemable, listed, rated non-convertible debentures (“NCDs”), not exceeding an aggregate limit of Rs. 3,700 crore on private placement basis.
United Phosphorus may see some gains on reports that the RBI has hiked FII limits to 74%. Foreign investors currently hold 46.5% stake in the company.
IL&FS Engineering and Construction may gain after the Company said it has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a total value of Rs. 1232 Crores.