Today’s Trade: Crude Boosts Sentiment, Gift Nifty Flat.
After a weak start, the market saw a recovery from lower levels on Monday. However, as has been observed over the past month, bears appeared to dominate once again, leading to a flat market close. Nifty slipped about 200 points from the day’s peak. Banking and IT stocks showed strong gains, but FMCG, pharma, and metal stocks came under pressure. The trend of disappointing results in companies’ second quarters continues. Asian Paints saw a decline of about 8% due to poor results, and the stock has now fallen to May 2021 levels. With the final phase of results, several brokerage firms have started reducing earnings estimates for stocks under their coverage. This is one reason why the market is facing pressure at higher levels. However some stocks are showing impressive gains following strong results. PFC and Shipping Corporation are examples of such stocks, who saw good gains on Monday. The U.S. market has maintained its momentum since the election. The Dow Jones closed above 44,000 with a gain of over 300 points. The S&P 500 index also closed above 6,000 for the second consecutive day. Besides stocks, Bitcoin is also showing an uptrend, now crossing $89,000. Investors here will focus on economic data and statements from Fed officials today, with attention on comments from Fed Governor. In Asia, mixed trading is being observed today. Japan’s Nikkei index is trading with a gain of nearly 0.75%. South Korea’s KOSPI index is under pressure. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai composite index are trading in the green. Brent crude oil has fallen by about $2, dropping below $72 per barrel. OPEC will also release its monthly oil market report today.
