Top 10 things to know before the market opens

The Indian stock market is expected to open flat to negative as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a muted start for the index in India.

On Thursday, Sensex closed 318 points, or 0.58 percent, higher at 54,843.98 and Nifty settled at 16,364.40, up 82 points or 0.50 percent. The BSE Midcap and smallcap indices closed 1.07 percent and 1.97 percent higher, respectively.

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 16,309.03, followed by 16,253.67. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 16,397.63 and 16,430.87.

US Markets

The Dow and S&P 500 jumped to record closes for a third straight day on Thursday, with mega-cap technology stocks driving the market higher as investors warmed to jobs data showing a steady U.S. economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.88 points, or 0.04%, to 35,499.85, the S&P 500 gained 13.13 points, or 0.30%, to 4,460.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 51.13 points, or 0.35%, to 14,816.26.

Asian Markets

Asian Markets are trading lower with Kospi down 1 percent, while Hang Send, Straits Times, Shanghai Composite down 0.3-0.9 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative start for the broader index in India, with a loss of 21.50 points or 0.13 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around 16,358 level on the Singaporean Exchange.

US Fed to unveil bond-buying taper plan next month; jobless rate to fall slowly

The Federal Reserve will announce a plan to taper its asset purchases in September, according to a solid majority of economists polled by Reuters who also said the U.S. jobless rate would remain above its pre-pandemic level for at least a year.

Dollar holds firm near 4-month high on Fed tapering bets

The dollar held firm on Friday, staying near its highest level in four months against a basket of currencies as investors looked for more hints from the Federal Reserve on its plans to reduce monetary stimulus.

Oil falls a second day after IEA warns of slowdown in demand

Oil prices fell for a second day on Friday after the IEA warned that demand growth for crude and its products had slowed sharply as surging cases of COVID-19 worldwide has forced governments to revive restrictions on movement.

RBI buys record gold in H1CY21, reserves cross 700 tonnes

With the highest gold purchase on a half-yearly basis, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) gold reserves, in proportion of its forex reserves, has crossed 700 tonnes for the first time, a report said on August 12.

The central bank purchased a record 29 tonnes of gold, as part of its forex reserves, in the first half of calendar year 2021, Business Standard reported. This takes the RBI's total gold reserves to 705.6 tonnes, as of June 30, 2021.

Govt to sell up to 25% stake in NSC via IPO

The government has kickstarted the process of selling up to 25 per cent stake in National Seeds Corporation (NSC) through an initial public offering (IPO).

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited bids from merchant bankers and legal advisors for working on the proposed IPO and subsequent stock exchange listing of the PSU under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

ixigo files for Rs 1,600-crore IPO

AI-based travel app ixigo, which is backed by the likes of Sequoia Capital, Elevation Capital (formerly Saif Partners) and Micromax, has filed its papers with market regulator Sebi to raise Rs 1,600 crore via an initial public offer. Moneycontrol has reviewed a copy of the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Retail inflation cools to 5.59% in July, comes back to within MPC's target range

Consumer Price Index-Based inflation (CPI) for July came in at 5.59 percent, back within the Monetary Policy Committee's inflation targeting range of 4 (+/-2) percent, on the back of softening food prices.

Consumer Food Price Inflation (CFPI) for July cooled to 3.96 percent compared with 5.15 percent in June, data from the National Statistical Office showed on August 12.

June IIP rises 13.6% YoY due to low base effect

A continuing low base effect led to industrial production in India expanding by nearly 13.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) in June, against a 28.6 percent rise in May and a massive 134 percent rise in April. When compared with May 2019; however, the industrial output showed a contraction of 13.4 percent.

US jobless claims near pandemic low as economy strengthens

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell to 375,000 from 387,000 the previous week. The number of applications has fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January as the economy has increasingly reopened in the aftermath of the pandemic recession.

Results Today:

Godrej Industries, Grasim Industries, NBCC (India), NHPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Hindustan Aeronautics, Indraprastha Gas, Inox Wind, Burger King India, Sun TV Network, Allcargo Logistics, Archies, D B Corp, Gayatri Projects, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, GMR Infrastructure, Godfrey Phillips India, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, IL&FS Investment Managers, Inox Wind Energy, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Jagran Prakashan, Madhucon Projects, Maharashtra Seamless, Mawana Sugars, Orbit Exports, Orchid Pharma, Petronet LNG, SEAMEC, Sintex Industries, Suven Pharmaceuticals, Suzlon Energy, Tide Water Oil (INDIA), Ucal Fuel Systems, Uttam Galva Steels, Visa Steel, Vivimed Labs and ZEE Learn to announce results on August 13.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 212.11 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 307.75 crore in the Indian equity market on August 12, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

Five stocks - Canara Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Punjab National Bank, RBL Bank, and Sun TV Network - are under the F&O ban for August 13. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.