US-China hostilities have delivered fringe benefits to an indiscernible party: the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A host of secondary floats by US-listed Chinese companies, which face the prospect of forced delisting from the US bourses, have delivered a revenue windfall and added billions of dollars to trading turnover. Besides, a Stock Connect programme that allows international investors to access mainland Chinese stocks has pooled in solid volumes. The bourse's profit for the first half of the year has hit a record high, and a rally in the bourse's own stock has made it the most valuable stock exchange in the world.
MARKET CUES: Where do we stand >>>  | Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 130 points lower at 7 am (IST) this morning, signaling a major downturn ahead on Dalal Street. |
| On Wednesday, Nifty50 formed a bearish candle on the daily scale after breaking out of a crucial range in the previous session, which sent out a weak signal. |
| Asian stocks were under pressure on Thursday after the US Fed minutes signalled tempered optimism about second-half growth and Sino-American tensions simmered. Stocks fell in Japan, China and Australia, with Hong Kong and South Korean shares underperforming. |
| Wall Street stocks retreated and later closed lower on the Fed news. Dow fell 0.31%, the S&P500 lost 0.44% and the Nasdaq 0.57%. |
| Oil prices fell on Thursday as major producers warned of a risk to the recovery in demand. Brent slipped 28 cents, or 0.6%, to $45.09 a barrel, while WTI crude fell 31 cents, or 0.7%, to $42.62. |
| The rupee pared its initial gains and settled 6 paise lower at 74.82 against the US dollar on Wednesday, even as the domestic equity market gained. |
| The dollar clung to overnight gains after the Fed minutes. The euro fell 0.7% and the pound was dumped back to $1.3103. The dollar jumped 0.7% on the yen. |
| Gold prices fell to Rs 53,394 per 10 gm on Thursday following a drop in international prices while silver slipped to Rs 67,072 per kg. On MCX, gold October futures plunged 1.77% to Rs 56,622 while silver futures for September fell 2% to Rs 68,129. In international markets, the yellow metal rose 0.3% to $1,934.41 an ounce early Thursday. |
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Stick to low debt stocks… Notwithstanding the growing risk appetite among investors amid a rebound in the broader market, analysts are advising clients to stick to companies with lower debts. With the stock market punishing most companies that have huge debt burdens, many have made an effort to trim their liabilities. Data show shares of companies with debt-equity ratio of less than one outperformed those with this measure reading more than one in the past five years.
Read More Apple tops $2t m-cap, makes Wall Street history… Apple Inc made Wall Street history on Wednesday when its 2020 stock surge pushed the market value past $2 trillion, the first time a US company has surpassed that level. Shares of the iPhone maker rose as much as 1.4% to $468.7 in midday trading. The stock has more than doubled off a March low, in a rally that has been driven by strong earnings results and optimism over its upcoming 5G iPhone.
Read More Carlyle to infuse cash in Axis Bank… Private equity giant Carlyle is closing in on a deal to invest Rs 5,000 crore in Axis Bank as the country's fourth-biggest lender seeks to fortify its capital base with a second major fundraising programme. Axis raised Rs 10,000 crore earlier in August through a QIP that saw marquee public market investors including Norges Bank Investment Management, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Fidelity sign up.
Read More MFs seek safety in IT stocks… Domestic fund managers increased their allocations to technology stocks to a four-and-a-half year high of 10.5% of total portfolio in July 2020 compared with 8.7% in June and 8% at the beginning of the year. The trend reflects flight to safety as other sectors seem to be more vulnerable to the economic impact of the Covid pandemic.
Read More Covid shot in the arm for health insurers... The Covid-19 pandemic has provided a booster shot to the health insurance business in the country. With 130 new products launched in four months, the segment has overtaken motor to become the largest business for non-life companies. Motor insurance, which accounted for 38% of industry premiums, has fallen to 30% while health, which was 30% last year, has risen to 33%. Data collated by the General Insurance Council shows the retail health portfolio of non-life insurers up to July was Rs 3,596 crore, an increase of 17%.
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Fed offers grim view of recovery… US Fed policymakers are considering tweaks to monetary policy that could result in the US central bank sticking with aggressive stimulus measures far longer than under its previous rubric, minutes from their last policy meeting showed. The readout of the Fed's July 28-29 meeting, published on Wednesday, also showed policymakers concerned that a recovery from the economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic faced a highly uncertain path.
Read More World Bank sees steeper contraction in India… The World Bank said on Wednesday that it may project a steeper contraction for Indian economy in its revised outlook, which will be available in October, as the coronavirus continues to spread and authorities unveil localised lockdowns. It also urged the government to continue with implementation of critical reforms in key areas like health, labour, land, skills and finance to come out stronger from the impact of the pandemic.
Read More No headway in PSU share sale… Almost five months into the financial year, Dipam is yet to open its account, although it is chasing a record disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore, raising doubts over its ability to complete transactions. The plan to sell off several loss-making companies has been a non-starter, but the government is unwilling to call them off either. There are murmurs within the government over Dipam holding back on IPOs and follow-on public issues, despite a recovery in the stock markets.
Read More Cabinet okays leasing out of 3 airports… The Cabinet on Wednesday allowed relaxation in working capital lending limits for discoms. It also okayed proposals to hike Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane by Rs 10 to Rs 285 per quintal and to lease out airports at Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram under PPP for a 50-year period.
Read More Meanwhile... Sebi to tweak rules for firms out of insolvency… Sebi has proposed changes to the minimum public shareholding requirements and enhanced disclosures for companies emerging out of the insolvency process. The regulator on Wednesday proposed three options to increase public holding post the CIRP. All listed companies are required to maintain a minimum public shareholding of 25%.
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