Stock market indices open mildly higher; Zee gains 10% post-merger deal with Sony Pictures

Stock market indices open mildly higher; Zee gains 10% post-merger deal with Sony Pictures

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, September 22, 2021, 11:05 AM IST
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Shares of Zee Entertainment was up nearly 10 percent at Rs 281.25 on news of merger deal with Sony Entertainment./Representational image | ANI Photo

The stock markets opened on a positive note on September 22 (Wednesday). The benchmark indices were mildly higher. Sensex was down 35.27or 0.06 percent at 58,970.00, while the broader Nifty was 11.60 points down or 0.07 percent at 17,550.40 points.

Shares of Zee Entertainment was up nearly 10 percent at Rs 281.25 on news of merger deal with Sony Entertainment.

HDFC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Nestle India, HDFC Bank and HUL.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, M&M, Titan and HCL Tech were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,041.92 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.

Nifty ended higher on September 21 aided by a late surge as global markets seemed to be recovering from contagion fears based on troubles at Evergrande. At close, Nifty was up 0.95 percent or 165 points to 17,562.

Nifty made a lower low compared to the previous day in the morning of September 21 but recovered to close with decent gains. 17,623-17,644 could be the next resistance for the Nifty while a close below 17,353 could lead to further selling in the markets.

US stocks end flat on Tuesday

US stocks ended near flat on Tuesday after a broad sell-off the day before, with worries over troubles at developer China Evergrande and caution ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy news keeping a lid on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.63 points, or 0.15 percent, to 33,919.84, the S&P 500 lost 3.54 points or 0.08percent to 4,354.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.50 points or 0.22 percent to 14,746.40.

US home builders started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million in August, a 3.9 percent increase from the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Compared with August 2020, housing starts were up 17.4 percent. The pace of permitting for new housing units also increased in August, up 6 percent from July and 13.5 percent from a year ago.

Asian markets start on cautious note

Asian stock markets made a cautious start on Wednesday and the dollar held firm amid lingering nerves about the fallout from a looming failure at developer China Evergrande and anticipation the Federal Reserve may move a step closer to tapering.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.5 percent. Equity, bond and currency markets in China open for the first time on Wednesday since concern over Evergrande’s predicament triggered a wave of selling and contagion worries around the world.

China Evergrande Group’s main unit said on Wednesday that it would make a bond interest payment on Sept. 23 ($35.9 mn vs 83.5 mn due), offering some relief to global markets on edge over a possible default by China’s No. 2 property developer.

US CAD at 14-year high

The US current account deficit increased to a 14-year high in the second quarter as businesses boosted imports to replenish depleted inventories amid robust consumer spending.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, rose 0.5 percent to $190.3 billion last quarter. That was the largest shortfall since the second quarter of 2007.

Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to fund the US government through December 3 and suspend the nation's borrowing limit until the end of 2022, sending it to the Senate where Republicans have vowed to block it.

The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday kicked off a two-day meeting that could lead to a more hawkish interest-rate forecast. Both the Fed’s potential timeline for tapering stimulus and any shifts in expectations for interest-rate increases amid elevated price pressures will be key for investors.

Oil prices up

Oil prices rose around 1 percent on Wednesday, extending overnight gains, after industry data showed US crude stocks fell more than expected last week in the wake of two hurricanes, highlighting tight supply as demand improves.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 75 cents, or 1.1 percent to $71.24 a barrel at 0131 GMT, adding to a 35 cent gain from Tuesday. Brent crude futures climbed 68 cents or 0.9 percentto $75.04 a barrel, after gaining 44 cents on Tuesday.

BSE adds 1 cr registor investor accounts

Premier bourse BSE has added 1 crore registered investor accounts to its platform between June 6 and September 21, taking the total to over 8 crore in a span of just 107 days.

On June 6 this year, the exchange had said its registered user base has crossed the 7 crore (70 million) mark, which was an addition of 2 crore registered investor accounts in a little over 12 months (from May 23, 2020).

Commenting on the achievement of crossing the 8 crore registered investor accounts on Tuesday, BSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said equity investments, whether directly or through mutual funds, are gaining ground over last one-and-a-half years due to variety of reasons globally, and the domestic market is also following this world trend.

Puranik Builders IPO

Real estate developer Puranik Builders has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO comprises fresh issue of shares worth Rs 510 crore and an offer for sale up to 945,000 equity shares by the company's promoters group, according to the draft papers filed with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday.

As a part of the offer for sale, Ravindra Puranik and Gopal Puranik will offload up to 4,72,500 equity shares each.

Five stock under F&O ban

Five stocks - Indiabulls Housing Finance, Vodafone Idea, IRCTC, Punjab National Bank, and Sun TV Network - are under the F&O ban today

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