Sensex, Nifty may open with a gap up
US Fed is on a path to begin raising its key short-term rate as early as the first half of next year.
Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could jump 84 points at the opening bell. On the macro front, India’s economy continued to expand in the July-September quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. India’s GDP grew 8.4% on-year basis against a contraction of 7.4% during the same period last year. The combined output of eight core industries has surged 7.5% in October as compared to the same period last year, showed the official data released on November 30.
Global markets
Overseas, most Asian stocks are trading higher on Wednesday, following losses the day before that were triggered by renewed uncertainty on the omicron Covid variant.
A private survey released Wednesday showed Chinese factory activity shrinking in November, with the Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index coming in at 49.9 for that month. That was a decline from October’s reading of 50.6.
US stocks tumbled Tuesday, reversing Monday’s rebound on Wall Street, as investors reassessed risks associated with the new Covid variant, omicron. Major averages dropped to their session lows after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will discuss speeding up the bond-buying taper at its December meeting.
In an appearance before a Senate committee, the Fed chief said he thinks reducing the pace of monthly bond buys can move quicker than the $15 billion-a-month schedule announced earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel reportedly said that he expects existing vaccines to be less effective against the new variant. The CEO told there could be a “material drop” in the current vaccines’ effectiveness against this variant. Bancel told on Monday that it could take months to develop and ship an omicron-specific vaccine.
Domestic markets
Back home, equity indices reversed intraday gains and ended with modest losses on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 195.71 points or 0.34% at 57,064.87. The Nifty 50 index fell 70.75 points or 0.41% at 16,983.20.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 5,445.25 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 5,350.23 crore in the Indian equity market on November 30, as per provisional data showed.