SGX Nifty up 135 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

NEW DELHI: Dalal Street looks set to kick off the new week on a positive note, even though there is no slowdown in Covid infections and localized curbs by many states continue. US markets closed at records highs on Friday and major Asian Indices traded in the green this morning.

Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 135 points, or 0.91 per cent, higher at 15,003.50 signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Monday.

Tech View: Nifty formed Doji on Friday
Nifty50 on Friday breached the 14,800 level and, in the process, decisively took out the 50-day moving average. The index formed a Doji candle on the daily chart, as it closed almost where it had opened. On the weekly scale, Nifty formed a long bullish candle, suggesting positive sentiment in the market.

Asian markets open strong
Among financial markets in Asia, Shanghai Composite traded 0.10 per cent lower at 3,415, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.75 per cent to 3,220.80 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.10 per cent to 28,657. Taiwan's TWSE index tanked 0.10 per cent to 17,267. Australia's ASX 200 jumped 1.12 per cent to 7,160.40. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.49 per cent.

Wall Street rallies to record highs
Major Wall Street indices finished at fresh records Friday after disappointing US jobs data fueled confidence of continued fiscal and monetary support as the economy recovers from Covid-19. The S&P 500 gained 30.98 points, or 0.74 per cent to 4,232.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 229.23 points or 0.66 per cent to a new high of 34,777.76, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up by 119.39 points or 0.88 per cent to 13,752.24.

Oil prices little changed
Oil prices were little changed as the COVID-19 crisis in India worsened, but prices were set for a weekly gain against the backdrop of optimism over a global economic recovery. Brent crude futures rose 19 cents to settle at $68.28 a barrel, while US crude futures gained 19 cents to settle at $64.90 a barrel.

Q4 earnings: Zydus Wellness, Chambal
Zydus Wellness, Intellect Design Arena, Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals, HFCL, Venky's (India), Paushak, HSIL, Satia Industries, PPAP Automotive, Oriental Aromatics, JMC Projects (India), Sangam Renewables, are among companies that will announce their March quarter results today

DIIs buy shares worth Rs 1,470 cr
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) tuned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,142.75 crore on Friday, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,468.09 crore, data suggests. Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 5,936 crore from the Indian equities in the first week of May.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee gained for the second straight day and closed 27 paise higher at 73.51 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield rose 0.69 per cent to 6.01 after trading in 6.02 -5.98 range.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.24 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.90-3.50 per cent.

The DAY PLANNER

• Q4 Earnings: Aarti Ind I Chambal Fertilisers I Zydus Wellness I
• Australia Retail Sales MoM Final March (07:00 am)
• UK Halifax House Price Index YoY April (01:00 pm)
• US ISM New York Index April (07:15 pm)
• US Consumer Inflation Expectations April (08:30 pm)

MACROS
RBI in no hurry to regularise PCA banks... RBI may delay regularising struggling state-run lenders that are under the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework as it has reservations over their capital adequacy levels. The sector regulator has raised questions over the government’s bank capital infusion programme through non-interest-bearing bonds, said people with knowledge of the matter. RBI reasons that capital infusion through bonds cannot be taken at face value and, therefore, these banks may still be short of regulatory capital.

Yield tricks keep long-term buyers away... India’s ‘concentrated’ yield management is having an unusual effect on sovereign bonds. While traders want the papers for short-term gains, long-term buyers including insurers are staying away, potentially triggering market volatility in a year that would witness record borrowing. “We have shied away from the benchmark paper for the past three months,” said Arun Srinivasan, head-fixed income at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

Copper hits all-time high... Copper soared this week to an all-time high, continuing a sizzling rally that’s seen prices double in the past year. The previous copper record was set in 2011, around the peak of the commodities supercycle sparked by China’s rise to economic heavyweight status — fueled by massive amounts of raw materials. This time, investors are betting that copper’s vital role in the world’s shift to green energy will mean surging demand and even higher prices. Copper futures rose as high as $10,440 a ton in London on Friday.

Mutual funds cushion FII selling... Selling by foreign portfolio investors in the domestic stock market in April was to some extent cushioned by buying from mutual funds. This made April the second consecutive month of net buying by domestic equity fund managers, who see long-term opportunities in the market. Besides, an increasing number of fintechs are bringing in new MF investors, boosting inflows to the market.

Dogecoin goes into tailspin... Dogecoin lost more than one-third of its price on Sunday, after Tesla chief and cryptocurrency supporter Elon Musk called it a 'hustle' during his guest-host spot here on the "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch TV show. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts had for days been eager to see what he would say, after his tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency, which began as a social media joke, into a speculator’s dream.

Crypto punters vent against WazirX after tech snag... Since Saturday morning many traders could not place bets on India’s largest crypto-currency exchange WazirX as they were unable to transfer funds to the bourse. Annoyed punters took to social media and reached out to the exchange, which said the delay in accepting funds was due to a “network issue at our banking partner’s end.” It promised that the money that was debited from traders’ accounts would be credited back ASAP. ‘Your funds are safe,” the exchange assured.

IndiaGrid InvIT to list today… Non-convertible debentures (NCD) of India Grid Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) which saw record retail participation early this month, will list on bourses Monday. Retail investors who did not get allotment can buy from the secondary market, said experts. The Rs 1,000 crore NCD issue with a base size of Rs 100 crore and greenshoe of Rs 900 crore got an overwhelming response from investors with collections of nearly Rs 2,400 crore.

Covid curbs may spoil Akshaya Tritiya... For the jewellery trade, it will be a second year of low sales on the Akshaya Tritiya day, which falls on May 14 this year. With lockdowns and restrictions across most states due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, jewellers expect very little demand for gold this Akshaya Tritiya, a day believed to be auspicious to purchase the metal. Last year, demand was 70% less compared with 2019.