SGX Nifty Indicates a Positive Opening; Airtel to Acquire 20% Stake in Bharti Telemedia

Market Preview

At 8:00am IST, the SGX Nifty Futures was trading at 15,241, compared with Nifty’s close of 15,208 yesterday.

Market status: Confirmed Uptrend

Distribution days: Five

Global stock markets: Dow30, +0.3%; S&P 500, -0.03%; Nasdaq, -0.6%; Nikkei, +0.1%; Kospi, -0.7%; Hang Seng, -0.5%

Yesterday, Nifty opened lower and continued to witness profit booking and traded volatile to close near 15,200. Though the index fell more than 0.2%, it escaped a distribution day as volume was lower than the previous session. The broader market outperformed. Midcap was up 0.3%, while Smallcap ended 0.03% higher. On the sectoral front, a mixed reaction was observed. Nifty IT (-1.5%) continued to decline along with Nifty Pharma (-1.7%). Nifty PSU bank was the major gainer, up 5.9%.  FIIs’ net buying was Rs 1,008 crore, while DIIs’ net selling was Rs 1,283 crore.

The market status remains in a Confirmed Uptrend. However, the distribution day count is at five. But, on a positive note, no new distribution day was added over the last two weeks. Nifty is trading 3.5% above its 21-DMA. If the 21-DMA is breached, we may downgrade the status to an Uptrend Under Pressure. Without trying to predict and decode stories, we will take what the market gives and continue to monitor unfolding conditions.

Key News

U.S. retail sales grew 5.3% in January, well ahead of expectations of 1.2%. The main reason for growth can be the $600 stimulus checks received by millions of consumers.

Bharti Airtel will acquire 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia from Warburg Pincus. Consideration to be substantially discharged through the issuance of Airtel shares via preferential allotment at a price of INR 600/share.

Phillips Carbon Black has commissioned two specialty black lines at Palej, Gujarat, for the production of a wide range of specialty black products totaling about 32,000 MTPA.

O’Neil Market Condition Report

For the 24 emerging markets tracked by our institutional research team, the market status breakdown is as follows: Confirmed Uptrend, 50%; Rally Attempt, 4%; Uptrend Under Pressure, 46%; Downtrend, 0%.

For the 24 developed markets tracked by our institutional research team, the market status breakdown is as follows: Confirmed Uptrend, 46%; Rally Attempt, 0%; Uptrend Under Pressure, 54%; Downtrend, 0%.