SGX Nifty up 40 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Nifty futures trading on the Singapore Exchange showed promise this morning. but uncertainty over Tuesday’s US elections and fresh Covid lockdown in Europe are expected to cap any upside. A numbers of companies will announce Q2 earnings and Equitas SFB will make debut on Dalal Street during the day.

Here’s breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 38.5 points, or 0.33 per cent higher at 11,673.50, in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Monday.

Tech View: Nifty50 forms indecisive Spinning Top
Nifty50 on Friday defended the immediate hurdle in the 11,580-600 range after sharply falling below it in intraday trade. The index formed an indecisive Spinning Top candle on the daily chart and a bearish candle on the weekly chart. The 50-day EMA and 50-day SMA of the index lay at 11,530 and 11,459 levels, respectively. Some analysts felt a fall below these levels could trigger sharp selling pressure.

Asian stocks mixed in early trade
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.6 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.69 per cent, or 167.41 points, to 24,274.83. China's Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.13 per cent, or 4.18 points, to 3,228.72. Australian shares were down 0.1 per cent while New Zealand's benchmark index eased 0.6 per cent.

Oil prices slump 4% amid jitters
Oil prices slumped more than 4 per cent to the lowest levels since May on worries a swathe of coronavirus lockdowns across Europe will weaken fuel demand, while traders braced for turbulence during the U.S. Presidential election week. Brent crude for January was at $36.32 a barrel, down $1.62, or 4.3 per cent, while US WTI fell $1.62, or 4.5 per cent, to $34.17 a barrel.

US stocks settled lower on Friday
US stock indices closed lower on Friday to cap Wall Street's biggest weekly sell-off since March, as losses in richly priced tech heavyweights, a record rise in coronavirus cases and jitters over the presidential election snuffed investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.51 points, or 0.59%, to 26,501.6. The S&P; 500 lost 40.15 points, or 1.21%, to 3,269.96 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.00 points, or 2.45%, to 10,911.59.

Equitas SFB to list today
Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank will make its market debut on Monday. The fresh issue of Rs 280 crore and an offer for sale of 7.2 crore shares from Equitas Small Finance Bank, was subscribed 1.95 times. The issue saw QIB portion subscribed 3.91 times, HNI portion undersubscribed at 0.22 times, Retail portion subscribed 2.08 times and shareholder reservation undersubscribed 0.42 times.

Q2 results today
HDFC, NTPC, Cadila Healthcare, Oracle Financial, Whirlpool of India, PNB, The Ramco Cement, ZEEL and Escorts are among companies which will announce their September quarter results on Monday.

FPIs sell Rs 871 cr worth of stocks
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 870.88 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 631.11 crore, data suggests.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: Forex and money markets to remain shut on Friday on account of 'Id-E-Milad'. The rupee declined 23 paise to close at a two-month low of 74.10 against the US currency on Thursday.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield rose 0.38 per cent to 5.88 after trading in 5.85-5.88 range.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.20 per cent, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 1.8-3.5 per cent.

DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH

• Q2 Earnings: Bandhan Bank I Escorts I HDFC I NTPC I Pfizer I PNB I Ramco I ZEE
• India October auto sales data
• India Markit Manufacturing PMI Oct (10.30 am)
• US total vehicle sales Oct (05:30 am)
• Japan Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI Final Oct (06:00 am)
• China Caixin Manufacturing PMI Oct (07:15 am)
• Euro Area Markit Manufacturing PMI Final Oct (02:30 pm)
• UK Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMI Final Oct (03:00 pm)
• US Markit Manufacturing PMI Final Oct (08:15 pm)

MACROS
GST collection tops Rs 1 lakh cr in Oct… India's GST collections for October crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the first time this financial year, underscoring the economic recovery that is under way and providing relief to the revenue-starved government. Separately released data showed railway freight loading was 108.16 million tonnes in October, 15% higher than the year earlier and 5% more than 102.13 million tonnes in September. GST collections in October added up to Rs 1.05 lakh crore, 10.2% more than the year earlier.

FinSec says Govt identifying stressed sectors…Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey says stressed sectors are being identified and the government would make interventions at the right time, exuding optimism about the recent economic recovery being more than just pent-up demand. Pandey, also the Revenue Secretary, said stimulating the economy is a continuous exercise. “There are certain stressed sectors like hospitality, tourism and various other sectors that are being identified,” he told ET. “We are consciously trying to do as much as possible.” He supported a simpler, three-rate GST structure, but cautioned against too much tinkering with the slabs.

FMCG online sales highest… India’s leading fast moving consumer goods companies Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Parle Products, Amul and Marico reported their highest level of online sales in the second quarter as consumers preferred the e-commerce route even as lockdown restrictions were eased. HUL said the share of ecommerce to its total sales volume climbed to 6% from 3% in 2019. Nestle said its online retail almost doubled in the September quarter.

UPI payments hit record… Unified Payments Interface has crossed 2 billion transactions in October, the first time it has done so, posting nearly two-fold growth in monthly volumes in less than a year. A sudden surge in adoption of digital payments among first-time users because of the Covid-19 pandemic has, to a large extent, contributed to the milestone. The digital payments channel, operated by NPCI, processed a total of 2.07 billion transactions worth Rs 3.86 lakh crore in October, data released on Sunday showed.

Diesel sales grow 6% in Oct… Diesel sales increased 6.6% and petrol sales 4% year-on-year in October as the festive season drove consumer demand and perked up the economy. It was the first monthly increase in diesel sales since the onset of the pandemic earlier this year that severely hurt demand for transportation fuels. Demand recovery looked even more dramatic month-on-month, with diesel surging 27.5% and petrol 8.5%, provisional sales data showed.

OTP for off-market deals haunts FPIs... Sebi is believed to have taken note of concerns expressed by market intermediaries catering to foreign portfolio investors who had sought exemption from OTP and physical delivery rules for off-market securities transactions, which came into effect from November 1. Off-market transactions are ones where two interested parties agree to buy and sell securities bilaterally outside stock exchange platforms.

I-T to check residential status of NRIs in safe havens… The income-tax department has asked several individuals to prove their non-resident status for assessment years 2013-14 to 2017-18. While filing their tax returns for the years in question, these persons had not disclosed their foreign assets by virtue of being non-resident. Unlike residents whose global income is taxed, foreign earnings of non-residents are not taxed under Indian income-tax law.

Banks sound easy about Covid stress… Rising collection efficiencies helped by a rebound in economic activities and benign initial requests for loan restructuring have made banks increasingly confident that the provisions they carry on their books should be good enough to deal with Covid-related stress. Both private and public sector banks are confident that stress in their books will not go out of control by the end of the fiscal as they have all increased their provision coverage ratios to deal with any increased stress.

Cement upgrade cycle in the offing… After two consecutive quarters of better-than-estimated performance, analysts have upgraded EPS of large cement firms for the current and the next financial years. They have increased their earnings estimates of firms such as UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cements and Shree Cement by 14-35%. For 2021-22, earnings estimates have gone up 10-25%. In the past few months, there have been increasing signs of improving demand, especially in rural and semi-urban areas