The stock markets opened on a positive note on Thursday (October 21). The benchmark indices --Sensex and Nifty50, were up in opening trade. The Bank Nifty was above 39,700.
At 09:17 AM, the Sensex was up 286.63 points or 0.47 percent at 61,546.59. The broader Nifty was up 82.40 points or 0.45 percent at 18,349. About 1455 shares have advanced, 415 shares declined, and 66 shares are unchanged.
Among the early gainers on the Nifty were ONGC, IOC, Tata Motors, BPCL and Tata Consumer Products.
Nifty fell for the second day in a row on October 20 as profit taking across the board led to Indian markets being the worst performer in the Asian region once again. Nifty finally closed 0.83 percent or 152 points lower at 18,267.
Nifty closed at almost the intraday low for the second session and advance decline ratio continued to be sharply negative. 18,198 and 17,948 are the two successive supports for the Nifty while, 18,351 could be a resistance for the near term. Post-one or two days of more weakness, one may get a chance to bottom fish (especially for traders), added Jasani.
US stocks close high
The S&P 500 and the Dow climbed on Wednesday with the Dow hitting an intraday record high as investors eyed better than expected third-quarter earnings from US companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.03 points, or 0.43 percent, to 35,609.34, the S&P 500 gained 16.56 points, or 0.37 percent, to 4,536.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.41 points, or 0.05 percent, to 15,121.68.
Asian stocks trade mixed
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade, as investors monitored shares of developer China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.28 percent while the Topix index dipped 0.21 percent. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.08 percent lower.
Bitcoin climbed to a record high on Wednesday, and the first US bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) built on gains after a solid debut on Tuesday. The world's leading cryptocurrency was up 3.30 percent at $66,364.72, after reaching a record of $67,016.50, topping the $64,895.22 hit on April 14 this year.
Shares of China Evergrande Group slid as much as 14 percent on Thursday after a deal to sell a $2.6 billion stake in its property services unit fell through, in the latest blow to the developer whose massive debt woes have rattled global markets.
Evergrande said on Wednesday it had scrapped a deal to sell a 50.1 percent stake in Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd to Hopson Development Holdings Ltd as the smaller rival had not met the “prerequisite to make a general offer”.
Oil near highest-level in 7 years
Oil held gains near the highest level in seven years after a surprise decline in US crude stockpiles.
Futures in New York traded above $83 a barrel after climbing more than 1 percent on Wednesday. U.S. crude inventories fell by 431,000 barrels last week, according to government data, compared with a Bloomberg survey that had forecast a fourth weekly increase. Fuel inventories also slid more than expected.
The market has tightened significantly recently as coal and natural gas shortages drive greater crude consumption, underpinning a rally in prices. Saudi Arabia said any extra oil from OPEC+ would do little to tame surging gas prices, predicting oil demand may rise by 500,000 to 600,000 barrels a day if the northern hemisphere’s winter is colder than normal.
US gasoline stockpiles fell by 5.37 million barrels for a second weekly draw, while distillates decreased by 3.91 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. Crude inventories at the key storage hub of Cushing slid by 2.32 million barrels to the lowest level since 2018.
RBI imposes penalty on Paytm Payments Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 20 said it has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs one crore on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) for certain violations.
On examination of Paytm payments bank’s application for issue of final Certificate of Authorisation, the RBI observed that PPBL had submitted information that did not reflect the factual position, the central bank said.
Results today
Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Biocon, 63 Moons Technologies, Agro Tech Foods, Borosil Renewables, Can Fin Homes, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, Container Corporation of India, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, IDBI Bank, Indian Energy Exchange, IIFL Securities, Indian Hotels, IndiaMART InterMESH, Duncan Engineering, Gateway Distriparks, Heritage Foods, Jubilant Industries, Lemon Tree Hotels, LIC Housing Finance, Bank of Maharashtra, Mphasis, Music Broadcast, Rane Engine Valve, Sasken Technologies, South Indian Bank, Sterlite Technologies, Tanla Platforms, Trident, TVS Motor Company, and VST Industries have results today.
10 stocks under F&O ban
Ten stocks - Amara Raja Batteries, Escorts, Vodafone Idea, IRCTC, L&T Finance Holdings, NALCO, Punjab National Bank, SAIL, Sun TV Network and Tata Power - are under the F&O ban.
