SGX Nifty hints at gap-start for Sensex, Nifty; 5 things to know before market opens

Rallying over 9 per cent in the Union Budget 2021 week, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were likely to extend gains into the sixth straight session on Monday. In the previous session, BSE Sensex hit a record high of 51073.27, while the Nifty 50 index touched a lifetime high of 15,014.65. As Union Budget 2021 and RBI MPC meet are now over, the focus will shift back to fundamentals as well as global cues. Nifty profits for the 30 companies that have posted their results have grown 23% YoY (v/s exp. of 4% growth). “We expect the earnings momentum to sustain with a further revival in the economy, the number of COVID-19 cases being contained, and the benefit of a low base ahead,” Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd said.

SGX Nifty in green: Nifty futures were trading 87 points or 0.58 per cent higher at 15,029.50 on Singaporean Exchange, indicating a positive start for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on the first day of the week.

Corporate earnings: A total of 140 companies including BPCL, Aditya Birla Fashion, Astrazeneca Pharma, Balkrishna Industries, Bombay Dyeing, Godrej Consumer Products, NMDC, Redington India, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Sun TV Network, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Usha Martin and Vakrangee, among others are slated to announce their quarterly earnings on February 8.

FPIs remain net buyers: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 12,266 crore in the Indian market in the first five trading sessions of February. As per FPI statistics available with depositories, overseas investors pumped in a net Rs 10,793 crore into equities and Rs 1,473 crore in the debt segment between February 1-5.

Technical talk: “The underlying short term trend of Nifty continues to be positive. Present volatility and consolidation movement could eventually result in an upside breakout in the next few sessions. The next upside levels to be watched at 15475, which is 1.618% Fibonacci extension. Immediate support is placed around 14800-14750 levels,” Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities said.

Global watch: Asian stock markets were trading mixed in the early trade on Monday. Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.92 per cent, Shanghai composite was up 0.38 per cent while the Shenzhen component gained 0.19 per cent. US stocks extended their recent rally on Friday and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes scored their biggest weekly percentage gains since the US elections in early November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 gained 0.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.57%.