Indian stocks set for a flat start as Asia opens mixed
By Vinu Lal
03:03, 17 December 2021
Indian stock markets are heading for a flat beginning on Friday as Asia opened on a mixed note, with Hong Kong and Japan opening weak.
SGX Nifty futures index, which represents Indian stocks, posted losses during morning trade but recovered to cut losses and held its ground and was up 0.05% an hour before Indian markets opened.
Asian investors were seen responding to overnight losses from the US and trade curbs on China. Wall Street indices closed lower on Thursday as investors digested the ramifications of the US Federal Reserve’s decision for a speedier withdrawal of bond purchases even as pandemic concerns refused to die down.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08% while S&P 500 lost 0.87% on Thursday.
Ajit Mishra, vice-president-research at Religare Broking said, “As all the major events are over now, we feel the performance of the global markets would be critical in days to come. At the same time, we expect the buzz to continue in the primary market. Among the sectors, only the IT pack looks decisive to us while others are witnessing mixed trends. Participants should plan accordingly.”
On currency outlook, Yes Bank Research said, “Over the next 2-3 months, we expect USD-INR to trade in the 75.50-77 level range. January to March 2022 might witness IPO/LIC-related capital inflows supporting the currency somewhat. However, it’s unlikely to trade below 74.50 over the next six months on a sustained basis amidst normalisation of monetary policy in developed market economies.”
Things to note before trade
- RateGain Travel Technologies, the Software as a Service (SaaS) company in the hospitality sector, to begin trading on stock exchanges today
- Multinational automotive manufacturer Tata Motors said its bus brand Starbus crossed the 0.1 million units in cumulative sales
- A German software provider for workforce management selected Indian technology services firm Persistent Systems to transform its customer relationship management with the help of salesforce integrations
- Gujarat-headquartered Torrent Pharmaceutical said its manufacturing facility at Levittown, Pennsylvania has successfully completed an inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration
Read More: US market close: Market sinks on Fed reflection
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