Gift Nifty indicates flat start for Indian markets amid stable Asian markets

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open on a flat note in trade on Friday as indicated by Nifty Futures traded at Gift City in Gandhinagar. Nifty futures at Gift City fell 11 points or 0.04 per cent to 25,422 amid stable cues from other Asian markets.

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher with Japan's Nikkei rising 0.34 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.30 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI advancing 0.78 per cent.

Overnight, Wall Street's main indexes closed lower after trading slightly higher early in the session. Data released on Thursday showed rising US jobless claims, indicating labor market softness, but strong service-sector activity. The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report for September is due on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.44 per cent to 42,011.59, the S&P 500 fell 0.17 per cent to 5,699.94 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.04 per cent to 17,918.48.

Oil prices inched up in early Asian trading hours on Friday, holding on to their strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the Middle East conflict and the potential disruption in crude flows against an amply-supplied global market.

Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.12 per cent, to $77.71 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 8 cents, or 0.11 per cent, to $73.79 a barrel.

Back home, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 15,243 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 12,914 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

Sensex and Nifty fell sharply lower in the previous session falling over 2 per cent on the back of heavy selling pressure by FIIs, tightening of trading rules for futures and options to curb speculative trading and rising geo-political tensions between Iran and Israel.

Stocks to Watch

Reliance Power: The board of Anil Ambani-backed company approved raising Rs 4,200 crore through 10-year foreign currency convertible bonds with 5 per cent annual interest rate. Varde Investment Partners, LP, will be the primary buyer. Additionally, the company announced an Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS) for its staff.

Canara Bank: R Rajesh has been appointed the new Functional Head of Credit and Prepaid Cards Wing, effective October 3, 2024. Rajesh previously served as General Manager within the bank.

Bank of Baroda: The bank posted a strong global business growth, reaching Rs 25.06 lakh crore in the September 2024 quarter, up 10.23 per cent YoY. Deposits rose by 9.11 per cent to Rs 13.63 lakh crore, and advances jumped 11.60 per cent to Rs 11.43 lakh crore. Domestically, deposits grew 7.14 per cent YoY to Rs 11.50 lakh crore, while advances surged 12.51 per cent to Rs 9.39 lakh crore.

Bajaj Finance: Bajaj's customer base shot up to 92.09 million, a sharp rise from 76.56 million in the previous year. AUM surged 29 per cent to Rs 3,73,900 crore, and new loans booked increased by 14 per cent to 9.69 million. Their deposit book also grew by 21 per cent to Rs 66,100 crore. The company reported a net liquidity surplus of Rs 20,100 crore in September 2024.

M&M Financial Services: The company's overall disbursements dipped by 1 per cent YoY, totaling Rs 13,160 crore in Q2 FY25. Collection efficiency remained steady at 96 per cent, while Stage-3 assets dropped to 3.8 per cent, down from 4.3 per cent in September 2023. Liquidity remains strong with Rs 8,500 crore in reserves.

DMart: DMart reported a revenue growth of 14.2 per cent, reaching Rs 14,050.32 crore in Q2 FY25, compared to Rs 12,307.72 crore last year. The total number of stores rose to 377 as of September 2024.

Aarti Drugs: The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted a GMP compliance certificate to Pinnacle Life Science, a subsidiary of Aarti Drugs, for its manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

(With Reuters inputs)