Indian markets open in the red tracking Covid-19 concerns in China – Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Zomato and others in focus

• Indian markets made a negative opening for the week tracking fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 in China, and the outcome of Fed outlook later this week.
• While the 30-stock Sensex opened 207 points down at 61,456, the 50-stock Nifty50 opened 61 points down at 18,246.
• Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Zomato and others will be in focus, while Five Star Business Finance and Archean Chemicals are expected to be listed on the exchanges today.

Benchmark Indian indices Sensex and Nifty50 opened in the red today as fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 in China and the US Fed outlook due later this week looming large. SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the Indian markets may perform, was down 47 points compared to Nifty50’s close on Friday last week.

While the 30-stock Sensex opened 207 points down at 61,456, the 50-stock Nifty50 opened 61 points down at 18,246.

Analysts had expected a lower opening for the indices following weak cues from the Asian markets. “Indian markets could open lower, in line with mostly lower Asian markets today and despite mildly higher US markets on Friday,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

In the last five days Sensex went down marginally by 0.16% while still remaining above 61,000 level. At the same time, Nifty50 lost 0.42% but maintained its 18,300 level.

Asian markets were trading in the red on Monday as investors fretted over rising Covid-19 cases in China turning into additional restrictions. Beijing’s most populous district urged residents to stay at home.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index fell 0.97%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.73% followed by Japan’s Nikkei 225 with 0.10% fall.

Brent crude oil prices fell to their lowest since September tracking the Covid-19 outbreaks in China, with a decline of over 1.2% to $86.57 per barrel.

What happened in the US markets

US markets shrugged off volatility on Friday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.48% to close at 3965, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.59% to close at 33,746. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite remained flat.

India’s forex reserves see the best addition in over one year

India added $14.72 billion to its forex reserves, marking the sharpest gain in over a year, to $544.72 billion. In the week ended November 5, India’s forex reserves stood at $529.99 billion.

It is worth noting that the Reserve Bank of India has exhausted $110 billion in the last seven months to keep the Indian rupee from a free-fall. At the end of March 2022, the USD-INR exchange rate stood at 75.91, and it is currently at 81.79.

Stocks to watch today

Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW Steel, Hindalco: The Indian government has withdrawn the export duty on steel products and iron ore, six months after announcing it on May 21. The export duty cut is in effect from November 19, 2022.

Tata Motors: The car maker will replace Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on the 30-stock Sensex on December 19, 2022. Adani Power and Indian Hotels will also replace Adani Total Gas and Hindustan Petroleum in the BSE 100 and Sensex Next 50 indices.

MarutI Suzuki: The car maker launched another affordable car, the Alto K10 with S-CNG technology at ₹5.94 lakh. It is also planning to introduce more models in the sports utility vehicles (SUV) segment to eventually push up its market share in the space.

Zomato: Shares of Zomato will also be in focus today after the company announced plans to lay off nearly 3-4% of its workforce to cost. This is after the company’s co-founder Mohit Gupta, intercity head Siddharth Jhewar, and new initiatives head Rahul Ganjoo left the company in the last three weeks.

Easy Trip Planners: The EasyMyTrip operator has announced a stock split in the ratio of 1:2, and issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, with the record date set being November 22.

NMDC: The iron ore producer announced plans to spend ₹900 crore over the next three years to ramp up iron ore production from its Kumaraswamy mines in Karnataka.

Lock-in period expiry: Logistics firm Delhivery, Syrma SGS Technology, Venus Pipes & Tubes and Tarsons Products are among companies whose promoter lock-in period ends this week.

IPO market

Five Star Business Finance and Archean Chemicals are expected to be listed on the exchanges today. Meanwhile, real estate company Keystone Realtors is likely to announce the allotment status of its IPO on Monday.

Stocks under F&O ban

Balrampur Chini, Bhel, Delta Corp, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Sun TV and Punjab National Bank are among stocks banned under the F&O segment today.


Source: NSE, Nifty50, as of 10 a.m., November 21, 2022

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