Sensex Pares Losses To Trade Flat, Nifty Near 17,150; Axis Bank Jumps 5% Post Stellar Q3 Results

Asian stock markets are trading sharply lower today with investors remaining cautious over geopolitical risks linked to Ukraine and the US Federal Reserve's decision later this week.

The Nikkei plunged 2.2% while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1%. The Hang Seng is down 1.4%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices bounced back from a steep sell-off late in the session to close higher on Monday, with bargain hunters pushing indices into positive territory by closing bell.

The Dow Jones added 0.3% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%.

Back home, Indian share markets opened deep in the red. Benchmark indices started lower, extending their sharp losses into a sixth straight session.

However, markets staged a sharp recovery and recovered all the losses. Presently, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note.

Participants are tracking shares of Pidilite Industries, SRF, Cipla, United Spirits, and Macrotech Developers as these companies will announce their December quarter results today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 61 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 25 points.

Axis Bank is among the top gainers today. Reliance and Asian Paints, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

Broader markets also recovered and are trading firm. The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.8% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 1%.

Barring energy, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the power sector and banking sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of ABB India hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at 74.59 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 48,592 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 64,068 per kg.

Gold is little changed as investors looked for interest rate hike cues from the US Federal Reserve's meeting, while safe-haven bullion was buoyed by risk-off trades over concerns of Russia-Ukraine discord.

Crude oil prices climbed today, regaining some of the ground lost in the previous day's sharp losses, on concerns over possible supply disruptions amid rising geopolitical tensions in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Bitcoin gained yesterday as buyers stepped in to buy the cryptocurrency, after earlier tumbling to its lowest level in six months. The currency fell on rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, amid the ongoing volatility, have a look at the two charts below, in the order, they have been placed:

Near Term Volatility in Sensex Compensated by Long Term Gains

The year-on-year change in the Sensex was hardly predictable but someone who stayed invested multiplied every lakh nearly 14 times.

Timing the markets could be suicidal as valuations and volatility put the markets in a see-saw mode.

As an individual investor, you need to sit tight over high conviction stocks and invest consistently to see the magic of compounding.

Because 2022 could be extremely profitable, over time, provided you reset your portfolio with the right kind of safe assets and safe stocks.

In news from the automobile sector, Maruti Suzuki is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Maruti Suzuki will shortly commence work on its new manufacturing facility in Sonipat, Haryana. It could emerge as the largest production base for Maruti in India.

Chairman of the country's largest carmaker R C Bhargava said that construction work will begin soon at the unit, which will be commissioned by 2025.

We are waiting for the clearances and will begin construction shortly. The first assembly line at the unit will be commissioned within three years.

The Sonipat facility could have a total installed capacity of about a million units.

The company has three assembly lines each operating at its facilities in Gurugram and Manesar, with a combined production capacity of around 1.5 m units. The company additionally sources vehicles from the parent Suzuki Motor Corporation's (SMC) facility in Gujarat.

Overall, Maruti Suzuki will invest Rs 180 bn on the facility at Sonipat, which will replace the Gurugram factory that faces issues of traffic and congestion as it is located near residential areas.

The Gurugram unit is the first manufacturing facility the company made operational in 1983. It rolled out the first model in its line-up - the iconic Maruti 800.

Note that demand in the local market has revived on a fast clip post the second wave, however supply shortage of semiconductors continues to affect production across automakers.

Maruti Suzuki is all set to report its December quarter earnings today.

Moving on to news from the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel has said its board will meet on 28 January to consider raising funds via a preferential share issue to investors other than its promoter group.

Following this news, several experts said this move could be to accommodate a "global strategic investor", which would strengthen the telco's financials ahead of a 5G spectrum auction mid-year.

The latest fundraising plans have sparked speculation of a possible stake sale in Airtel to a strategic global investor as part of Bharti's digital asset monetization plans.

At present, Airtel's promoter group Mittal family and SingTel hold a 55.93% stake in the company while the rest is held by the public. The Mittal family, directly and indirectly, owns around 24.13%, while SingTel holds 31.72%.

On the possible monetization of Bharti's digital assets, Sunil Mittal had previously said that any potential alliances or equity stake offers to key strategic global investors would only be through the parent company, Airtel.

This was in the aftermath of media speculation last year that US search giant Google was likely to make a substantial investment in Airtel.

Note that this fundraising will come on top of the rights issue it conducted last year, raising around Rs 210 bn to bolster its balance sheet and prepare for an upcoming 5G spectrum auction likely in April-May.

Bharti Airtel's share price is trading higher by 2.3%.

Disclosure: Equitymaster Agora Research Private Limited (Research Analyst) bearing Registration No. INH000000537 (hereinafter referred as 'Equitymaster') is an independent equity research ...

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