Sensex up 1.5%, Nifty eyes 16,900; metals, IT, banks surge

European stocks rebound at open

European equities rebounded by 1.0% on Tuesday after the previous day’s sharp global selloff that was rooted in concerns over Omicron economic fallout.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies climbed to 7,268.87 points.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index increased to 6,940.38 points and Frankfurt’s DAX rose to 15,390.79.

Global equity and oil markets had slumped Monday on investor panic over the impact of worldwide measures to contain the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Oil prices climb but worries over Omicron linger

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, though investors remained worried about the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant globally and the possibility that countries may consider more restrictions, potentially denting fuel demand.

Brent crude futures increased by 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.81 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 49 cents, or 0.7%, to $69.10 a barrel.

Indian Oil to invest ₹9,028 crore for capacity expansion 

The board of directors of Indian Oil at its meeting held today accorded approval for investment proposal of new crude oil pipeline system with a capacity of 17.5 MMTPA from Mundra to Panipat along with with augmentation of crude oil tank farm at Mundra, at an estimated cost of ₹9,028 crore. The project will meet the enhanced crude oil requirement arising out of capacity expansion of Panipat Refinery from 15 MMTPA to 25 MMTPA.

The project is expected to be completed within 36 months and would be synchronized with the commissioning of Panipat Refinery expansion project.

Blinkit temporarily halts deliveries in areas without 10-minute delivery service

Exide to set up multi-gigawatt Lithium ion cell manufacturing facility

Exide Industries, at its board meeting held today, decided to set up a multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant. It also plans to apply for and participate in the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery Storage, issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. With the evaluation of the next steps, the company shall be sharing more details on the above as it further develops its plans.

Birla Tyres approves internal restructuring of company to recast debt: BSE filing 

NPCI partners Udemy Business to upskill employees

Foxconn plant in south India to stay shut this week after protests: Reuters 

Apple supplier Foxconn’s plant near Chennai in southern India will remain shut this week following protests, government sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Five days of holiday have been declared at the plant, the Superintendent of Police in Kancheepuram said, following protests against food poisoning at a unit.

The report was confirmed by a senior official of the state of Tamil Nadu, of which Chennai is the capital.

Foxconn was not immediately available for comment.

Police in India on Monday released dozens of those detained for blocking a key highway in a protest against food poisoning at the Foxconn plant that makes iPhone 12 models.

Top gainers/losers on Nifty at this hour 

Gujarat Gas may see short term volume headwinds but margin outlook intact

Regular price hikes by gas utilities such as Gujarat Gas Ltd over the past few months have led to some softness in gas offtake by the industrial sector.

Domestic gas prices, effective 1 October, had been raised by 62% from $1.79/MMBtu (million British thermal units) to $2.9/mmBtu. Gujarat Gas also has exposure to imported LNG and spot gas sourcing for distribution. The steep rise in spot gas and imported LNG (liquified natural gas) prices thereby have meant that the company had to remain more proactive on passing costs.

Recent channel checks by Jefferies India Pvt Ltd at the Morbi Ceramic cluster in Gujarat suggest that current gas consumption remains at 75% of pre-second wave peaks. At 6.5-7.0 mmscmd and 5.7 mmscmd in November and December respectively, Morbi gas volumes are lower than 7.7-7.8 mmscmd volumes seen during March 2021. Mmscmd stands for million standard cubic meter of gas per day. (Read here)

Torrent Pharma issues corporate guarantee to MUFG Bank for credit facility availed by unit

India’s domestic oil production falls in November, gas output up 23%

India’s domestic oil production continued to fall in November with the crude oil production down 6.89% as compared to the corresponding period last year. However, according to the monthly production report released by ministry of petroleum and natural gas, there was a 23.09% increase in gas production in November.

SBI picks up minority stake in JSW Cement Ltd

The State Bank of India (SBI) has acquired a minority stake in JSW Cement Ltd, part of $ 13 billion JSW Group.

The bank has invested ₹100 crore in the company via compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS). The conversion of the CCPS into common equity of will be linked to the company’s future business performance and valuation determined at the time of the proposed initial public offering. This capital infusion will support JSW Cement’s capacity expansion from current 14 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) to 25 MTPA.

The SBI transaction with JSW Cement comes close on the heels of the ₹1,500 crore investments made by two global private equity investors, Apollo Global Management Inc. (through its investment entity in Singapore) and Synergy Metals Investments Holding Ltd earlier this year.

Petroleum ministry offers eight blocks under seventh OALP bid round

As part of India’s energy security strategy to boost domestic hydrocarbon production, the petroleum and natural gas ministry has launched the seventh bid round under the liberal open acreage licensing programme (OALP). Under the latest round, around 15,766 sq km has been offered to investors.

A total of eight blocks spread over six sedimentary basins are being offered and includes five onland blocks, two shallow water blocks and one ultra-deepwater block. Some of the terms of these bid rounds include reduced royalty rates, no oil cess, marketing and pricing freedom, round the year bidding, a single license to cover both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources and exploration permission during the entire contract period. (Read here) 

Jumbotail raises $85 mn from Invus affiliate, others; Kalaari exits partially

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform Jumbotail Technologies Pvt Ltd has raised $85 million (around ₹640 crore) in its Series C funding round led by Artal Asia Pte Ltd, an affiliate of the US-based Invus Group, the company said on Tuesday.

Ajax Capital, the family office of entrepreneur Ajay Gupta, also participated in the round. Gupta is the managing director of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Capital Foods Pvt Ltd.

This Series C funding round was a combination of primary and secondary investments. Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital partially exited the company with new investors coming in, the company said in a statement.

The latest fundraise takes the total capital raised by the company to $125 million, it added.

Nifty technicals: Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel One Ltd

Our market has been an underperformer as compared to the global peers of late. On Friday, Nifty closed below 17000 to put recent swing low of 16800 in danger. The moment global markets became nervous, we had a terrible start yesterday morning to breach the important support in opening trades only. As the day progressed, the selling aggrandized across the board to send Nifty towards the 16400 mark. At one point things looked extremely bleak, but fortunately for us there was no further damage done in the latter half. In fact due to modest recovery, Nifty managed to close tad above 16600.

It was probably the weakest session in recent months and with this, we are back to August month levels. If we take a glance at the daily time frame chart, we can see Nifty precisely entering our mentioned target zone of 16500 – 16200. Since we were not so far away from the sheet anchor support of ‘200-day SMA’, we had some respite around it. But by saying this, we do not consider this as a bottom. If we have to arrive at such decision, we need to assess the situation throughout this week. The intermediate structure remains weak and now the resistance zone shifts lower from 17700 to 17200 – 17000. Till the time we do not reclaim the higher end of this range, the trend remains bearish. Before this, yesterday’s gap area of 16840 – 16966 to be seen as immediate hurdles. On the flipside, key supports are placed around 16400 – 16200.

Since market is a bit oversold, we may see in between rebounds or time wise correction in key indices. So even if one wants to take a stock specific punt on the long side, it’s advisable to avoid aggressive bets and should follow strict stop losses. Barring few handful exceptions, there was complete carnage in individual stocks yesterday. Apart from this, the BANKNIFTY has finally slipped convincingly below 200-day SMA and hence, 36000 would now be seen as sturdy wall for it.

Two hundred Omicron cases reported in India so far, 5,326 new COVID-19 cases: union health ministry data

Nifty Metal surges most among sectoral indices 

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Wipro gains; company to acquire exas-headquartered Edgile for $230 million

Snapdeal files draft papers for IPO 

SoftBank-backed Indian e-commerce platform Snapdeal filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday.

Snapdeal’s IPO consists of a fresh issue of shares worth 12.5 billion rupees ($165.09 million) and an offer for sale of 30.8 million shares, according to its draft prospectus.

Broader markets advance; India VIX down 4%

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Rupee rises 17 paise to 75.73 against US dollar in early trade

Omicron sweeps across America, now 73% of new US COVID cases

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the US, accounting for 73 per cent of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.

In much of the country, it’s even higher. Omicron is responsible for an estimated 90 per cent or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. The national rate suggests that more than 650,000 omicron infections occurred in the US last week.

Oil prices edge higher but investor worries on Omicron spread remain

Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, though investors remained worried about the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant globally, prompting countries to consider more restrictions potentially denting fuel demand.

Brent crude futures increased by 59 cents, or 0.8%, to $72.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 73 cents, or 1.1%, to $69.34 a barrel.

Top gainers/losers on Nifty 

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Nifty view: Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments

While the markets have opened with a gap up, traders should be cautious and not take hasty buy decisions. The trend continues to remain down and strategic methods can be adopted to find short selling opportunities. The resistance level for the Nifty is 17150-17200 and until that is not conquered, we are in an established downtrend.

L&T to acquire stake in Intelliflux Controls INC. for $2 mn

Larsen & Toubro International FZE, a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Ltd, has entered into a share purchase agreement to purchase stake in Intelliflux Controls INC., a Delaware Corporation.

The cost of acquisition has been pegged at $2 million.

Sensex jumps 700 points; all constituents in green 

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Nifty rises above 16,750 in opening deals 

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Sensex rises over 400 points at open 

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Nifty higher in pre-open 

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Sensex rises 450 points in pre-open 

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Jio adds 1.7 million mobile subs in October: Trai data

Reliance Jio Infocomm added 1.7 million wireless subscribers in October, raising its gross user base to 426.59 million.

In comparison, Airtel lost 0.48 million customers dragging its gross user base to 353.97 million, while Vodafone Idea lost 0.96 million customers to close the month at 269.02 million subscribers.

Global funds shunning India turns rupee into worst Asia currency

The Indian rupee is set to end a tumultuous year as Asia’s worst-performing currency with foreign funds fleeing the nation’s stocks.

The currency declined 2.2% this quarter as global funds pulled $4 billion of capital out of the country’s stock market, the most among regional markets where data is available.

Foreigners sold Indian stocks as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Nomura Holdings Inc. recently lowered their outlook for equities, citing lofty valuations, at a time when concerns about the omicron virus variant are roiling the global markets. Record-high trade deficit and the central bank’s policy divergence with the Federal Reserve have also impinged on the rupee’s carry appeal. (Read here)

Vedanta entity, OVL among companies in race for Videocon Oil & Gas Co

The resolution professional of VOVL, the oil and gas exploration company of Videocon Industries, received over a dozen expressions of interest from a Vedanta entity, ONGC Videsh, Singapore’s Saiml Pte Ltd and two separate applications from Brazil-based oil explorers Petro Rio SA and Geneva SA, the Economic Times reported.

Axis pips Kotak, Indusind for Citi’s India consumer

Axis Bank has emerged as the frontrunner to buy Citi’s consumer business in India, piping rival contenders Kotak Mahindra Bank and Indusind Bank, the Economic Times reported citing sources.

Axis and Citi have signed an exclusivity agreement to hold bilateral negotiations as the Wall Street bank has already informed the others about their decision. Citi has been expecting around $2 billion from the sale.

Stocks to Watch

Shares of Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Dish TV, Adani Enterprises, Wipro, among others, will be in focus today.

MapmyIndia will make its stock exchange debut on today. Experts largely feel the listing will be at a premium. MapmyIndia, which offers proprietary digital maps as a service (MaaS), software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), saw its issue subscribed 154.71 times.

SGX Nifty futures traded at 16,823.00, up 0.99%, in early deals 

Asian shares rise; investors assess Omicron fallout

Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures rose on Tuesday, providing some respite from the dour investor mood caused by escalating Omicron coronavirus cases and challenges for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.

MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share gauge snapped a two-session drop, with Japan, China and Hong Kong climbing. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts were in the green, signaling some stabilization after the broader U.S. equity benchmark posted its biggest three-day drop since September.

Investors are trying to evaluate how long and deep a hit global economic reopening faces from the omicron flareup, as a variety of nations step up mobility curbs. Such restrictions could add to pandemic-era supply chain and labor snarls that have stoked inflation and prompted central banks to tighten monetary settings.

S&P 500 future rose 0.5% while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8%.

Japan’s Topix index climbed 1.5%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite index increased 0.3%.

Overnight, US stocks ended lower, down by more than 1%, pressured lower by surging Omicron coronavirus cases and a possible fatal blow to a $1.75 trillion U.S. domestic spending bill, with oil prices plunging.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.23% lower at 34,932.16, while the S&P 500 ended the day down 1.14% at 4,568.02. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.24% to 14,980.94.