Nifty set to open lower amid mixed cues from Asian markets

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower as indicated by Nifty futures traded at Gift City in Gandhinagar amid mixed cues from Asian markets. Nifty futures at Gift City fell 45 points or 0.2 per cent to 26,309.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note as Japan's Nikkei dropped over 4 per cent in reaction to a sharply stronger yen after perceived monetary policy hawk Shigeru Ishiba won the contest to become the country's prime minister.

A known critic of the Bank of Japan's extraordinary stimulus of the previous decade, Ishiba beat monetary-policy dove Sanae Takaichi in a close contest on Friday that was decided after share markets had already closed. He is due to become premier on Tuesday.

On the other hand, China's stocks surged after its central bank on Sunday said it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans before Oct. 31, as part of sweeping policies to support the country's beleaguered property market as the economy slows.

China's CSI 300 index rose 3.45 per cent, Shanghai Composite climbed 3 per cent, SZSE Component index advanced 5 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 4.5 per cent.

Back home, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,209 crore on Friday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 6,886.65 crore.

FIIs have so far this month purchased shares worth Rs 57,359 crore making it the best month for FII buying this year, data from NSDL showed.

Stocks to Watch

Apollo Hospitals: Reduces stake in Apollo Healthco from 94.91 per cent to 78.879 per cent by issuing Rs 2,475 crore worth of preference shares to Rasmeli, an Advent affiliate, for a 16.9 per cent stake.

Adani Enterprises: Acquires 74 per cent stake in Cococart Ventures for Rs 200 crore through April Moon Retail, a joint venture of Adani Airport Holdings.

IndusInd Bank: Re-appoints Sumant Kathpalia as MD & CEO for another 3-year term starting March 24, 2025, pending RBI and shareholder approval.

Tata Motors: Launches Rs 9,000 crore greenfield manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, aiming for an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles over 5-7 years.

Reliance Infrastructure: Wins Calcutta High Court ruling, securing Rs 780 crore arbitration award against Damodar Valley Corporation. Bank guarantee of Rs 600 crore to be released.

Welspun Enterprises: Bags Rs 1,989.9 crore BMC contract to construct 8.48 km water conveyance tunnel from Dharavi to Ghatkopar, with a 93-month completion timeline.

IDFC First Bank: Approves merger of IDFC Financial Holding with IDFC, effective Sept 30, and IDFC with IDFC First Bank from Oct 1. V Vaidyanathan reappointed as MD & CEO for a 3-year term starting Dec 19, 2024.

Dr Reddy’s Labs: Invests $620 million in subsidiary Dr Reddy’s Laboratories SA, Switzerland, acquiring 6.2 million preference shares.

Zomato : Co-founder and Chief People Officer Akriti Chopra resigns after 13 years with the company.

Punjab National Bank: Raises Rs 5,000 crore through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) at Rs 103.75 per share, with investors including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: Faces Rs 361.23 crore tax demand for FY 2022-23, plans to appeal against the order.

BSE: Revises transaction charges for Sensex and Bankex Options to Rs 3,250 per crore of premium turnover, effective Oct 1.

(With Reuters inputs)