Sensex, Nifty50 to open lower tracking global markets on fears of rate hikes; Adani Group, HDFC, Ambuja Cements among stocks in focus

• India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 are likely to open in the red on Friday, tracking negative cues from global markets on fears of rate hikes.
• SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the markets may perform, was down 0.58% or 105 points early in the morning today.
• Adani Group, HDFC, Ambuja Cements are amongst stocks in focus today.

India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 are likely to open in the red on Friday, tracking negative cues from global markets on fears of rate hikes. SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the markets may perform, was down 0.58% or 105 points early in the morning today.

The January inflation shocker has resulted in economists revisiting their earlier expectations of the Reserve Bank of India pausing rate hikes after February. With the inflation print at 6.52% and marginally above the repo rate of 6.5%, economists are now anticipating another 25 basis point rate hike in April.

Global brokerages JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are now expecting at least one more 25 basis point rate hike by the US Fed after the country reported robust economic data last week.

Markets tumble globally

Markets in the US declined across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.26%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.38%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.78%.

Asian markets were also largely in the red on Friday morning, with KOSPI declining the most at 0.96%, followed by Taiwan Weighted at 0.74%. Nikkei 225 fell 0.58%, while Hang Seng declined 0.55%. The Shanghai Composite index, on the other hand, was flat.

Stocks to watch

Adani Group: The management of the group on a call reportedly told tense investors that they would address deadlines to repay debt. They will come up with a plan to refinance Adani green Energy’s bonds due in 2024 by the end of June.

HDFC: The mortgage lender has concluded sale of 10-year non-convertible debentures for ₹25,000 crore marking its biggest ever rupee bond issuance with a coupon of 7.97%.

Ambuja Cements: The cement maker has been declared as the ‘preferred bidder’ for the Uskalvagu limestone block in Odisha. An e-auction was conducted by the Odisha government for the block situated in Malkangiri district.

RailTel Corporation: The company bagged an order worth ₹27.07 crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation to supply, install, test and commission the IT network infrastructure. Along with, the company has to execute a comprehensive annual maintenance contract worth ₹6.22 crore per year for 5 years extendable to 10 years.

Stocks in F&O ban today

Ambuja Cements, BHEL, Indiabulls Housing Finance and PNB continue to remain in the F&O ban list on Friday.

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