Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens

Dalal Street

The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open marginally lower on November 8 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a negative start for the broader index with a loss of 14.5 points.

On November 7, the BSE Sensex fell 16 points to 64,942, while the Nifty50 declined five points to 19,407 and formed Doji kind of a candlestick pattern as well as Tweezer Top kind of a pattern on the daily charts, indicating the possibility of some kind of reversal. Hence, the move in the next session will be crucial to watch out for.

"Normally, such Doji formation at the swing highs or lows calls for impending trend reversals for the underlying. Having formed this pattern beside the long bull candle of Monday signal chances of range bound movement in the market," Nagaraj Shetti, technical research analyst at HDFC Securities said.

The larger degree of lower tops and bottoms is intact as per daily timeframe chart and the Nifty is moving up towards the new lower top formation of the sequence. Still there is no confirmation of any lower top reversal pattern yet at the highs, he feels.

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may take support at 19,350, followed by 19,328 and 19,292. On the higher side, 19,422 can be the immediate resistance followed by 19,445 and 19,481.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.

GIFT Nifty

The GIFT Nifty indicates a marginally negative start for the broader index with a loss of 14.5 points. GIFT Nifty futures stood at 19,481 points after making a high of 19,490 points.

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US Markets

US stock futures were flat on Tuesday night after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched their longest winning streaks in about two years. Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.05 percent, and Nasdaq 100 futures inched lower by 0.06 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 11 points or 0.03 percent.

In after-hours action, shares of Array Technologies tumbled about 13 percent as the solar tracker company offered weak full-year guidance for earnings and revenue. Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing supplier, lost 14 percent after announcing a plan to raise capital through stock and note offerings.

Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to clinch its seventh straight positive session. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9 percent to post its eighth straight day of gains. Tuesday marked the longest stretch of positive days since November 2021 for both indexes. The 30-stock Dow climbed nearly 0.2 percent, marking a seventh winning day.

These gains come after about 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have beaten earnings estimates this season, while slowing demand means that only 59 percent have also topped revenue expectations. The last time this differential was this wide was during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to LSEG.

European Markets

European stock markets closed lower Tuesday as positive momentum stalled in the region and third-quarter earnings continue to roll in. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended 0.15 percent lower. The oil and gas sector dropped 2.4 percent after Saudi oil giant Aramco reported a steep decline in profit and as oil traded lower, while tech stocks rose 1.5 percent.

Watches of Switzerland led the gains, up 13 percent after the company reported higher revenue and said it expected to more than double profits by fiscal 2028. Swiss bank UBS closed 1.8 percent higher after gaining over 3 percent before paring some gains, following its first full quarterly results since completing its takeover of Credit Suisse.

Asian Markets

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher after most major indexes closed lower in the previous session. Investors are watching for more economic data to help give stock markets more direction.

The tepid gains arrive after South Korean stocks retreated more than 2 percent from their Monday rally, while the US markets closed out their longest winning streaks in nearly two years.

The Reuters Tankan poll showed Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence improved for the first time since August and service-sector mood rose for a second month, underscoring a challenging outlook amid a patchy economic recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.57 percent, while the Topix added 0.14 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.72 percent and the Kosdaq inched 0.30 percent higher at open. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.31 percent. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,727, pointing to a marginally higher open compared to the HSI’s close of 17,670.16.

Govt intervention in food commodities to help FMCG sales: Consumer Affairs Secretary

Government intervention in the form of export bans, export duties, stock disclosures and open market sales of pulses, rice and wheat will help the sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies as the government’s target segment will buy essential goods at cheaper prices, leaving them with the ability to spend on other items, Consumer Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.

“The steps being taken by the government such as launch of ‘Bharat Dal’ or ‘Bharat Atta’ will not affect big FMCG brands but actually improve the sales of private FMCG industry as our target audience will receive relief from the high prices on essentials and will have more spare money in the pocket which will increase their spending capacity,” he said.

As per the secretary, the government via these sales is targeting a particular segment. “Of course, people across the spectrum consume atta, but this is a heavily segmented market. We are not targeting the people who are buying ITC/Rajdhani aata. We are targeting the other segment, which will actually get relief because people who are buying ITC atta are not worried about Rs 2-3 difference. They are not price-sensitive to that extent. But this segment that we are targeting, will queue up in front of our vans to get relief of even Rs 2-3 because they are price-sensitive to that extent,” he said.

Amid persistently high inflation, the Centre has been taking stringent measures to keep the price rise under control. After prescribing new limits for stockpiling of wheat by traders, tighter monitoring of rice stocks and duty-free import of pulses, the government has started selling subsidized pulses and wheat flour as the festival season kicks off.

Voltas denies reports of Tata considering sale of home appliance business

In response to news reports regarding the potential sale of the Voltas Home Appliance business by its parent Tata Group, Voltas issued a statement vehemently denying the claims. The statement released by Voltas expressed strong discontent with the news, labelled it as "totally incorrect and blatantly false," stressing that there was no "factual basis" to support the claims made.

"This is with reference to the news ‘Tata Considering Sale of Voltas Home Appliance Business’ which appeared on Bloomberg.com this afternoon, which was also picked up by few other publications/channels, without ascertaining the facts from the Company’s officials before publishing the same," Voltas said in its statement, adding, "In this connection, we wish to categorically state that the aforesaid news is totally incorrect and blatantly false, with no factual basis whatsoever. The Management therefore denies any such development."

Voltas reiterated its commitment to the home appliances business and vowed to strengthen its leading position in the sector. Commenting on the news reports causing embarrassment and raising concerns among shareholders and investors, the company said it is initiating steps to address the issue with Bloomberg, seeking clarification.

Indian diagnostic sector set for double-digit growth in medium term: CareEdge Ratings

India’s diagnostic services sector is poised for steady 12-14 percent revenue growth, with operating profitability margins expected to reach pre-Covid-19 levels and remain in the range of 23-25 percent for FY23-24, according to a report by CareEdge Ratings.

Diagnostics play a critical role in healthcare, serving as the initial step in disease detection, prognosis, and treatment regimen determination. The Indian diagnostic services market, characterized by fierce competition and fragmentation due to low entry barriers, was valued at $14.57 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $43.57 billion by FY32, according to Polaris Market Research (March 2023).

The growth is underpinned by increased healthcare spending, an aging population, heightened awareness of preventive testing, advanced diagnostic offerings, and government initiatives for healthcare and insurance.

35 aircraft to be grounded due to powder metal issue in P&W engines: IndiGo

IndiGo, India's biggest carrier in terms of domestic market share and fleet, on November 7 said that based on its preliminary assessment and information received from Pratt & Whitney on the engine powder metal issue, it expects 35 aircraft to be grounded in the January-March quarter or fourth quarter of 2023-24.

The 35 aircraft on ground (AOG) expected from January will be in addition to the planes IndiGo has grounded due to supply chain issues at the moment, the airline said in a press release.

"We anticipate Aircraft on Ground (AOG) in the range of mid-thirties in the fourth quarter (Jan-Mar 2024) due to accelerated engine removals. These groundings will be incremental to the current AOGs," IndiGo said. IndiGo currently operates 176 A320neo as part of its fleet of 334 aircraft and currently has over 40 aircraft grounded due to P&W engine issues.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure Q2 net profit rises to Rs 7.53 crore

Schneider Electric Infrastructure Limited (SEIL) on November 7 reported a multifold jump in its net profit to Rs 42.86 crore for the September quarter, aided by higher income. It had clocked Rs 8.74 crore net profit in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company's total income rose to Rs 497.53 crore over Rs 425.86 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its expenses were at Rs 451.25 crore as against Rs 420.39 crore a year ago.

Power Grid Q2 net profit inches up 4% to Rs 3,781 crore

Power Grid Corporation of India on November 7 said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 rose 3.59 percent to Rs 3,781.42 crore from Rs 3,650.29 crore a year ago. Relatively lower expenses drove profits higher but higher taxes offset them partly.

Its revenue from operations came in at Rs 11,267.07 crore, up 1.04 percent against Rs 11,150.57 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

KIMS Hospitals Q2 results: Net profit falls 4.5% to Rs 101 crore

Hospital chain Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (KIMS) on November 7 reported a 4.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) decrease in net profit at Rs 101 crore for the July-September period. The hospital operator's revenue for the quarter came in at Rs  655 crore, reflecting a 14.3 percent rise YoY from Rs 573 crore in the year-ago period.

EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was reported to be Rs 177.2  crore in the quarter against Rs 152 crore in the same period last year. EBITDA margin for the July- September quarter was reported to be  27.2 percent as against 27 percent for the same period a year ago.

Oil Prices

Oil prices hit fresh 2½-month lows on Tuesday as mixed economic data from China offset the impact of Saudi Arabia and Russia extending output cuts. Brent crude futures were down $2.64, or 3.11 percent, to $82.53 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $78.26 a barrel, down $2.60, or 3.22 percent. Both hit their lowest levels since late August.

The premium on front-month loading Brent contracts over ones loading in six months’ time was also at a 2½-month low, indicating market participants are less concerned with current supply deficits.

While China’s crude oil imports in October showed robust growth both year on year and month on month, its total exports contracted at a quicker pace than expected.

Dollar Index

The Dollar index traded 0.32 percent higher in futures at 105.55, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 83.09.

Gold Prices

Gold fell to a near two-week low on Tuesday on a firmer dollar, with traders positioning for interest rate cues from a host of Federal Reserve speakers this week. Spot gold fell 0.67 percent to $1,964.59. US gold futures dropped 0.88 percent to $1,971.10.

The dollar index rose 0.51 percent, making the bullion more expensive for overseas buyers. The gold market is waiting for further dovish signals from the U.S. central bank before the rally can continue, said Carlo Alberto De Casa, market analyst at Kinesis Money, adding prices were consolidating after slipping into the overbought territory. Gold gained more than 7 percent in October as the conflict in the Middle East boosted safe-haven demand.

FIIs and DIIs

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 497.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought Rs 700.28 crore worth of stocks on November 7, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies.