The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher as indicated by the Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Exchange. Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty rose 0.4 per cent or 63 points to 15,047. In yesterday’s session, the benchmarks extended their rally to second session led by gains in information technology and auto shares.
Meanwhile, other Asian markets edged higher on Wednesday as investors shrugged off concerns that stocks may have rallied too far too fast in the past year, and focused instead on optimism that more imminent US stimulus will energise the global economic recovery.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.44 per cent. Australian shares were up 0.62 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose only 0.03 per cent. Shares in China gained 0.63 per cent.
Overnight, global equity markets were little changed on Tuesday as Wall Street retreated and investors took stock of gains from Monday’s surge, pausing to gauge whether a bond yield jump had run its course.
Back home, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 2,223 crore while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 854 crore.
Shares of telecom service providers will be in focus after yesterday’s spectrum auction. Mukesh Ambani’s Jio cornered more than half of the telecom spectrum auctioned by the government over the past two days, offering about Rs 57,123 crore to consolidate its holding of the scarce resource that are used to carry mobile call and data signals. Telecom giant Bharti Airtel bid Rs 18,699 crore to pick up 355.45 megahertz (MHz) out of the 855.60 MHz of radiofrequency, giving it “most formidable” spectrum holding in the country. Vodafone Idea Ltd, which is facing a huge liability of unpaid statutory dues of past, bought spectrum worth Rs 1,993.40 crore, Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash told reporters here.
