Market watch: Cues that will impact Nifty today

Moneycontrol Bureau:

After stunning performance of the market last week, investors opted for profit booking on Monday. The Sensex fell 79.49 points to close at 18,673.34. The Nifty slipped 21.55 points and ended at 5,669.60.

A quick look at global and local set-up.

Also read: Best of rally over; markets enter choppy phase, says Justin Harper

Powerful push:

The government has approved a bailout for cash-strapped power distributors. According to sources, there was a tussle between the power and finance ministries over the bailout for power distribution companies.

Cabinet reshuffle:

Prime minister may announce a cabinet reshuffle before September 28, 2012. Congress working committee will meet today to discuss the matter.

US markets:

The US markets ended in negative territory, with the S&P 500 posting a decline for the third-consecutive session, as ongoing worries in the Euro zone added to concerns over global economic growth. The CBOE volatility index traded near 14.

Key data to watch out for in US today:

Consumer confidence index is expected to rise to 64.8 levels in September. Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is expected to remain unchanged at 0.9 %.

European markets:

European markets closed lower after German business sentiment declined for a fifth-consecutive month.

German business sentiment plummeted to its lowest in two-and-a-half years in September. The IFO Institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 101.4 from 102.3 in August.

IMF's Managing Director Christine Lagarde overnight warned that the fund is set to cut its forecast for global growth next month. Right now, the fund figures that the world economy will grow about 3.5% this year.

Asian markets:

At 7:50 am (IST), Asian markets were trading mixed. China's Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,034.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 20,705.12. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.32% or 28.99 points at 9,098.28. Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.22% or 6.65 points at 3,074.58.

South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 0.17% or 3.42 points at 2,000.02. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was flat at 7,765.41.

Currency space:

The euro slipped further against the dollar following weak data from Germany. The dollar index is inching higher to 79.5 levels.

Commodities:

Brent crude prices recovered after slipping to USD 109 per barrel levels. Brent crude is currently above USD 110 a barrel.

Gold prices declined marginally to USD 1,764 per ounce levels as broadly lower crude oil prompted investors to take profits.

Stocks in news:

UK based Cairn Energy will sell nearly 8% of 15.3 crore shares in Cairn India. This block deal of nearly 940 million dollars is priced at Rs 317-328 per share.

Agency reports indicate that Maruti will hike car prices within a week in order to offset impact of adverse foreign exchange fluctuation and rising input costs.

ICICI Bank has agreed for bank guarantee to finance Deccan Chronicle’s operations of Deccan Chargers. Deccan Chargers have been assured of solvency, ability to finance operations for IPL 6.

Vini Amesar.
vini.amesar@network18online.com