SGX Nifty down 130 points; what changed for market while you were sleeping

Record high Covid cases at home and a mixed start to Asian markets could hit investor sentiment on Dalal Street on Monday. It remains to be seen how investors react to HDFC Bank's mixed set of quarterly numbers announced over the weekend.

Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS
SGX Nifty signals negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 128 points, or 0.87 per cent, lower at 14,513.50 in signs that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Monday.

Tech View: Nifty lacks in follow-up buying
Nifty50 on Friday formed an indecisive Doji candle on the daily chart. On the weekly scale, the index formed a Hammer candle. Analysts said the 14,700 level may pose strong resistance for Nifty50 in the coming days. A fall below 14,250 level on the index can trigger a strong correction, they said.

Asian markets mixed in early trade
Asian markets were trading mixed in Monday's trade. Japan’s Nikkei was flat at 29,659.36, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.17 per cent; Korea’s Kospi was up 0.28 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite index edged 0.13 per cent higher. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last at 695.59, within striking distance of Friday's high of 696.48 - a level not seen since April 7.

Dow, S&P500 hit record highs
Wall Street saw no reason to stop rallying as the US economy pulls out of its downturn, lifting the Dow and S&P 500 to their second consecutive record on Friday. On Friday, the S&P500 index rose 15.05 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4,185.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 164.68 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 34,200.67. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 13.58 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 14,052.34.

ACC, ICICI Pru to report Q4 results
ACC, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Crisil and Bajaj Consumer Care would be among companies which would announce their quarterly results on Monday.

DIIs buy stocks worth Rs 658 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 437.51 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 657.55 crore, data suggests.

Macrotech Developers to make market debut
Realty major Macrotech Developers, which recently raised Rs 2,500 crore through a public issue, will list its shares on stock exchanges on April 19. The Mumbai-based company launched its initial public offer (IPO) on April 7 to raise Rs 2,500 crore through fresh issue of shares. The issue, which had a price band of Rs 483-486 per share, closed on April 9.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee on Friday soared by 58 paise to end more than one-week high of 74.35 against the US dollar on easing US bond yields and positive domestic equities.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond yield fell 0.62 per cent to 6.08 after trading in 6.07-6.17 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 1.90-3.50 per cent.

DATA/EVENTS TO WATCH

• Q4 earnings: ACC I ICICI Pru Life I Crisil I Bajaj Consumer
• Japan balance of trade March (05.20 am)
• Japan Industrial Production MoM Final Feb (10:00 am)
• Japan Capacity Utilization MoM Feb (10:00 am)
• Euro Area Current Account Feb (01:30 pm)
• Euro Area Construction Output YoY Feb (02:30 pm)

MACROS
Covid 2.0 may delay govt privatisation... The sharp surge in Covid cases in the country has cast fresh shadows of uncertainty over the government’s privatisation drive and it is likely that some high-profile stake sales may get delayed. Several key stake sales are in an advanced stage — Air India, BPCL, Shipping Corporation and BEML sales are scheduled to be completed in the current financial year. But experts say the second wave of the pandemic is likely to hamper the process as various stakeholders may prefer to wait till there are some signs of cooling down in the infection numbers.

Mall owners take a hard knock... Developers of malls and shopping centres have started registering revenue losses of over 50% due to a sharp drop in footfalls after weekend curfews and local restrictions were implemented across key Indian states in the midst of the second wave of Covid-19 infections. After a calibrated and phased reopening across states and key consumption hubs since October, malls and shopping centres had started witnessing a gradual recovery in footfalls and consumption from December. However, the second wave of Covid-19 infections and related restrictions have impacted that recovery. The second wave is battering the entire country and is setting back the recovery plans of all industries.

Midcap, smallcap ETFs in demand... Cost-conscious investors are gradually dipping their toes in funds that mimic midcap and smallcap indices as local asset managers expand their product offerings to meet the growing demand for cheaper products. Aditya Birla SL MF launched a midcap and smallcap index fund this April, Nippon launched a midcap index fund in February 2021 and a smallcap 250 index fund in October 2020. Distributors said more fund houses are considering such launches. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, which was the first to launch midcap and smallcap index funds 20 months ago, has seen flows into these funds gather pace

Top IT firms on a hiring spree... Top Indian IT services companies added 72,000 employees, up 44% from about 50,000 in the previous year, to their work forces in the pandemic-hit fiscal year 2021 as the software giants booked record deal numbers. The hiring trend is expected to continue this fiscal. IT consulting and research firm Everest Group’s CEO Peter Bendor-Samuel said the IT industry is seeing a remarkable growth surge, which is also combined with a renewed interest in moving work offshore to destinations like India.

FPIs seek time to submit audited accounts... FPIs have asked the government to extend the June 15 deadline to furnish their audited financials in view of the second Covid-19 wave and high trading volumes in the past few months. While Sebi requires FPIs to submit their accounts to the regulator by September, starting this year, they are also needed to submit their accounts to the tax department by June, which the FPIs claim they won’t be able to comply with. Funds have asked the government for more time or to allow them to submit unaudited results for now.

Indian IPOs draw FIIs... Record fundraising through IPOs by Indian companies has sparked the interest of first-time foreign investors in the space, said a top investment banker. Historically, Asian and Indian funds have been the biggest participants in the country’s new offerings, but in the past few months investors from newer geographies have dipped their toes in the domestic IPO waters, said S Ramesh, CEO, Kotak Investment Banking.