SGX Nifty hints at negative start for Sensex, Nifty; 5 things to know before opening bell

Domestic equity market benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were likely to see a gap-down start on Thursday as suggested by trends in SGX Nifty. Headline indices closed little unchanged in the previous session for the second day on the trot. While in the broader market, both midcap and smallcap indices ended with decent gains. Analysts seeing a healthy pause after the budget up move which is more of a time-wise consolidation so far. Also, earnings announcements from some of the prominent companies like ACC, Ashok Leyland and ITC will be in focus on Thursday. “We suggest keeping a close watch on the banking index for cues on the further directional move in Nifty. Amid all, we reiterate our bullish bias and advise continuing with the ‘buy on dips’ approach,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

SGX Nifty trades in red: Nifty futures were trading 62 points or 0.41 per cent down at 15,076 on Singaporean Exchange in early trade on Thursday, indicating a negative start for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50.

Corporate earnings: A total of 442 BSE-listed companies including ITC, Coal India, Power Grid Corporation of India, ACC, Ashok Leyland, General Insurance Corporation of India, MRF, Oil India, Petronet LNG, Power Finance Corporation, Prestige Estates Projects, among others are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings on February 11.

RailTel Corporation of India IPO opens next week: RailTel Corporation of India initial public offer (IPO) will open for subscription on February 16 and close on February 18. The price band for the public issue has been fixed at Rs 93-94 apiece.

FIIs remain net buyers: On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) lapped up shares worth Rs 1,786.97 crore on a net basis in the Indian equity market. While domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 2,075.68 crore, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

Global watch: Asian stock markets were trading lower in the early trade, while markets in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for holidays. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed over half a per cent, while the Straits Times index in Singapore fell over 0.25 per cent. In overnight trade on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged slightly lower.