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Indian Indices Continue Rally, Oil Prices, and Top Stocks in Action Today
Wed, 20 Mar Pre-Open

On Tuesday, share markets in India traded on a positive note most of the day and ended higher.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 268 points to end the day at 38,363. ITC and NTPC were among the top gainers.

While the broader NSE Nifty ended up by 70 points to end at 11,532.

Among BSE sectoral indices, telecom stocks gained the most by 1.8%, followed by energy stocks and FMCG stocks.

Top Stocks in Action Today

SpiceJet share price will be in focus today as the company has become a member of global airlines' grouping International Air Transport Association (IATA). SpiceJet is the first Indian budget carrier to join the IATA, which has over 290 airlines as members.

Cadila Healthcare share price will also be in focus today as the company has received the final approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Acyclovir Ointment USP (US RLD - Zovirax), 5%. It will be manufactured at the group's Topical manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad.

Market participants will also track Vodafone Idea share price.

Reportedly, Vodafone Idea has partnered with Nokia to roll out its next generation, future ready LTE network across multiple service areas. As part of the agreement, Nokia will deploy state-of-the art telecom equipment, including Single RAN Advanced, massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and small cells.

The Latest on the Jet Airways Saga

Government of India has asked state run banks to rescue Jet Airways without pushing it into bankruptcy, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to avert thousands of job losses weeks before a general election.

In the past year, the finance minister has sought updates from the banks, led by State bank of India (SBI) on Jet's financial health.

Reportedly, New Delhi has urged state-run banks to convert debt into equity and take a stake in Jet in a rare move in India to use taxpayer money to save a struggling private-sector company from bankruptcy.

The government has also pushed its 49% owned National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) - created to invest in stalled and new infrastructure projects - to buy a stake in Jet.

With more than 1 billion dollars of debt, Jet is struggling to stay aloft. It has delayed payments to banks, suppliers, employees and aircraft lessors, some of which have begun terminating lease deals.

If the government's plan for Jet succeeds, then state-run banks including SBI and Punjab National Bank (PNB) as well as NIIF would together own at least a third of the airline until they find a new buyer.

How all this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

From the Currency Space...

After six consecutive session of gains, the rupee slipped against the US dollar on Tuesday, as the greenback saw some buying by banks and exporters.

On Monday, rupee closed at seven months high at 68.53. The gains in the domestic unit came at a time foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continue to pour money into domestic equities.

So far this month, they have invested over US$3 billion in shares.

Apart from the FPI inflows, there have been other developments that have supported the currency.

Global central banks are in an accommodative mode which has helped emerging markets such as India.

Moreover, India's trade deficit for February at US$9.6 billion hit a 17-month low because of a contraction in imports.

The rupee continues to remain firm despite the RBI's announcement of a US$5-billion-rupee swap arrangement last week under which it will buy dollars and pump in the rupee.

Further, market circles are also optimistic that FPIs will look at corporate bonds.

Oil Prices

Oil prices were near 2019 highs on Tuesday, supported by supply cuts led by producer club OPEC. Reportedly, US sanctions against oil producers Iran and Venezuela are boosting prices.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Monday scrapped its planned meeting in April, effectively extending supply cuts that have been in place since January until at least June, when the next meeting is scheduled.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-affiliated allies like Russia - known as the OPEC+ alliance - have been withholding around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in crude supply from the start of the year to tighten markets and prop up prices.

US crude oil output has soared by more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) since early 2018, to around 12 million bpd, making America the world's biggest producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

On the demand-side, there is concern that an economic slowdown as well as improving energy efficiency and the emergence of alternative transport fuels will erode oil consumption.

We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space. Stay tuned.

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