Indian Market Likely To Open On Cautious Note

Lower SGX Nifty and largely sluggish Asian markets point to a cautious start for Indian shares Wednesday morning.

The strong close on Wall Street overnight is likely to aid sentiment, while concerns about upcoming sharp interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, and the likely impact of the Ukraine war on global economic growth are expected to render the mood cautious.

Also, after Monday’s sharp uptick, traders might look to take some profits at several key counters.

In earnings news, Bharti Airtel reported consolidated net profit of Rs 2,008 crore for the January-March 2022 quarter, up from Rs 759 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Indian Oil Corporation reported a 26 percent drop in net profit for the quarter ended March 2022 at Rs 6,645.72 crore, compared to its net profit a year ago.

IRB Infra’s net profit rose to Rs 175 crore in the quarter ended March 2022, up 80 percent, compared with its net profit in the corresponding quarter last year.

ITC, LIC Housing Finance, Lupin, Indian Overseas Bank, Indraprastha Gas and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail are among the companies scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings today.

Indian shares rose sharply on Tuesday, mirroring firm cues from global markets.

Sentiment was boosted by expectations of demand revival in top consumer China after Shanghai pledged to gradually ease its Covid lockdown and return life to normal in June.

On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended with a sharp gain of 1,344.63 points, or 2.54 percent, at 54,318.47 amid broad-based buying. The broader NSE Nifty index settled at 16,259.30, up 417 points, or 2.63 percent, from its previous close.

On Wall Street, the major averages all ended with handsome gains on Tuesday. The Dow gained 1.34%, the S&P 500 ended 2.02% up and the Nasdaq climbed 2.76%.

The major European markets closed notably higher. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.22%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.72%, Germany’s DAX surged up 1.59% and France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.3%.