Sensex Today Live | Share Market Updates: Sensex, Nifty recover to trade higher; Bajaj twins shine

We believe that global monetary tightening has entered its last phase with key central banks like the Fed and BOE pausing on rate hikes. RBI will also be on a long pause with government taking fiscal steps to manage inflation. We think that the broad range of the benchmark 10yr bond yield will be between 7.00% to 7.25% over the next couple of months. Given the inclusion of Indian government securities in the JP Morgan EM Index and the recent rise in yields which has pushed back the expectations of rate cuts, yields are entering attractive territory and investors can look to increase allocation to Fixed Income as growth is expected to slow down towards the end of the year.

Investors with medium to long term investment horizon can look at funds having duration of 3-4yrs with predominant sovereign holdings as they offer a better risk reward currently. Investors having an investment horizon of 6-12 months can look at the money market funds as yields are attractive in the 1yr segment of the curve.

The Indian rupee’s outlook remains weak and any rally in the currency following JPMorgan’s index inclusion should be used to build long USD/INR positions, economists at Nomura said in a note, raising the conviction level on its long USD/INR positions to the maximum.

Nomura said actual inflows from passive funds are unlikely until around June 28, 2024, when the bonds will be included, and active fund houses will need to be mindful of their tracking error limits. (Reuters)

Nifty came under selling pressure last week amid global cues and heavyweights especially from BFSI space led Nifty to move below 19700 levels. Despite buying seen among Technology heavyweights, Nifty lost nearly 2.5% last week. Even broader markets saw some profit booking where both midcap and small cap indices closed the week with nearly 2% losses. Going ahead, we expect Nifty may find it tough to move beyond its VWAP levels of 19900 in the settlement week.

Bank Nifty significantly underperformed Nifty with declines of almost 3.5% during the week and erased gains of the last 2 weeks. Despite outperformance from PSU banks, severe selling pressure among key heavyweights led bank nifty to close below 45000 levels. Going ahead, we expect move above 45500 could be crucial for renewed strength during settlement week.

Brokerage firm Antique Stock Broking has initiated coverage on Ircon International with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹176 per share, implying an upside of over 24% from Friday’s closing price.

A dip in Indian households’ net financial savings due to elevated debt threatens to choke major sources of funds for the government’s capital investments, key for the nation to retain its mantle of the fastest-growing major economy, according to a report published by Bloomberg News.

Bajaj Finance Ltd. will convene a board meeting on October 5 to consider raising funds via a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The company plans to raise funds through various methods, including a preferential issue and the QIP. The proposal is subject to regulatory approvals, including approval from the company’s shareholders.

Oil prices rose on Monday as investors focused on a tighter supply outlook after Moscow issued a temporary ban on fuel exports while remaining wary of further rate hikes that could dampen demand.

Brent crude futures climbed 32 cents, or 0.3%, to $93.59 a barrel by 0434 GMT after settling 3 cents lower on Friday.

Burman family firms MB Finmart Pvt Ltd, Puran Associates Pvt Ltd, VIC Enterprises Pvt Ltd, and Milky Investment & Trading Company have announced an open offer to acquire up to 26% additional stake in Religare Enterprises 

for ₹2,116crore.

The Burman family, which holds a controlling stake in Dabur, on Monday announced an open offer for a 26% stake in Religare Enterprises for upto ₹21.16 billion rupees.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out over ₹10,000 crore from Indian equities in the first three weeks of September, primarily due to rising US interest rates, recessionary fears, and overvalued domestic stocks.

Before the outflow, FPIs were incessantly buying Indian equities in the last six months from March to August and brought in ₹1.74 trillion during the period. (PTI)

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private lender, plans to launch a revamped mobile app and an internet banking website by March, over five years after an upgraded app faced glitches and had to be rolled back in a week.

The bank will start a closed user group trial by December and then roll it out to other users by the end of March, Anjani Rathor, chief digital officer of the bank, said in an interview. “We have taken feedback from customers. It will be a lot more intuitive and simpler to use,” said Rathor. (Full story)

Oil prices rose on Monday, boosted by a tighter supply outlook after Russia’s temporary ban on fuel exports, even as investors remained wary of further interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve that could dampen demand.

Brent crude futures climbed 0.5%, to $93.75 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures extended gains for a second straight session, trading at $90.53 a barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.6%.

Both contracts snapped a three-week winning streak to fall last week after a hawkish Fed stance rattled global financial markets and raised concerns over oil demand. 

Wipro will return to a “great level of growth” when market conditions improve, chief executive officer Thierry Delaporte said in an interview where he defended his leadership style and dismissed worries about senior-level exits.

The statement from Delaporte, who took over as Wipro boss in July 2020, comes at a time when at least half a dozen brokerages expect Wipro’s full-year revenue to decline this fiscal year. (Full report)

“Nifty after the previous session slide witnessed further extended the losses to breach below the 19,700 zone decisively and touched the intraday low of 19,660 zone with sentiment maintained cautious and bias weakening with continued profit booking witnessed in Realty, Metals, and Energy. Bank Nifty also slipped further to touch the 44500 levels during the intraday session and closed near the 44600 zone with a high profit booking seen in HDFC Bank. With the next support being near 19600 levels and breaking below this, we have the next crucial and significant support of 19200 levels, which, if breached, can further weaken the bias and cause a further slide…The support for the week is seen at 65,000/19,200, while the resistance is seen at 67,000/20,000. Bank Nifty would have a weekly range of 43,500–45,500 levels.”

Top ten stocks that are likely to be in focus on Monday include SBI, Reliance, Delta Corp, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, SJVN, LIC, ICICI Lombard, and Blue Star. Canara Bank, Delta Corp, Granules India, Hindustan Copper, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Manappuram Finance are the six stocks that are a part of the F&O ban list by the stock exchange today.

Asian stocks traded on a cautious note on Monday as central banks around the world warned of higher interest rates for longer and investors braced for key inflation data from the US and Europe. US markets closed lower on Friday. Markets will also be closely watching China’s economic data for any signs of a recovery, after the country’s GDP growth slowed to a record low of 2.6% in the second quarter of 2023.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points next week, while the European Central Bank is also likely to hike rates significantly at its meeting in September. 

Oil prices were higher on Monday with Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to $93.73 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also up 0.5% at $90.47. The gold price was flat at $1,923.88 per ounce.