Important Information For August 18 Stock Trading Strategy

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open marginally lower as indicated by the Nifty Futures traded on Singapore Exchange. Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty Futures fell 0.12 per cent or 22 points to 17,947 amid negative global cues.

Here are key things to know before markets open on Thursday

Asian Markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower taking cues from weak closing in the US markets. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.77 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.5 per cent and Taiwan Weighted dropped 0.75 per cent.

US Markets

Overnight, stocks on Wall Street closed broadly lower Wednesday as drops by big technology companies wiped out the S&P 500′s gains for the week.

The benchmark index fell 0.7 per cent, snapping a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.3 per cent.

Small-company stocks fell more sharply than the rest of the market, pulling the Russell 2000 1.6 per cent lower.

Traders focused on a mix of retail updates that indicate inflation pressure continues to affect businesses and consumers, but also shows that spending remains strong. A government report showed retail sales were flat last month, and Target shares slumped after the retail chain reported a nearly 90 per cent skid in quarterly profits.

Gold and Crude Oil Price Check

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery rose $1.58 to $88.11 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for October delivery rose $1.31 to $93.65 a barrel.

Gold for December delivery fell $13 to $1,776.70 an ounce. Silver for September delivery fell 36 cents to $19.73 an ounce and September copper fell 4 cents to $3.58 a pound.

The dollar rose to 135.05 Japanese yen from 134.25 yen. The euro rose to $1.0183 from $1.0169.

Foreign Flows

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,347 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 510 crore.

Rupee Check

The rupee gained 29 paise to settle at 79.45 against the US dollar on Wednesday as heavy buying in domestic equities and persistent foreign capital inflows strengthened investor sentiment.

Besides, softening crude oil prices and easing inflationary pressures supported the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 79.32 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.26 and a low of 79.48.

IPO Market Update

The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Syrma SGS Technology received 2.27 times subscription on the third day on Wednesday.

The Rs 840 crore-IPO received bids for 6,48,39,020 shares against 2,85,63,816 shares on offer, according to NSE data.

The category meant for non-institutional investors got subscribed 3.58 times, Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) 2.66 times and Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) 71 per cent.

Stocks In Focus

RBL Bank: RBL Bank on Wednesday said it has offloaded over 12 per cent stake in Kilburn Engineering since May for a total consideration of over Rs 17 crore.

The private sector lender had acquired 67,50,000 equity shares of Kilburn Engineering (Kilburn) under a debt recast plan.

This represented 19.67 per cent share capital of the company, as part of conversion of loans outstanding under debt restructuring plan by RBL Bank in February 2021, and subject to lock-in for one year.

Bank of Baroda: Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Wednesday said it has raised Rs 1,000 crore through issuance of bonds for financing infrastructure and affordable housing projects.

The bonds, with a tenure of seven years, will offer a coupon rate of 7.39 per cent, it said in a regulatory filing.

UltraTech Cement: India appears to be well placed to ride through an uncertain global economic environment brought by various disruptions, which now feel like 'business as usual', UltraTech Cement Ltd Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said on Wednesday.  

In his virtual address to shareholders at the cement maker's annual general meeting, Birla said one can expect the medium-term growth recovery to remain on track even though businesses would need to remain on guard regarding financial market volatility and cost pressures this year.