Market Ahead, September 2: Top factors that could guide markets today

Investors will now shift their focus back to the global markets for cues, although the Supreme Court's hearing on loan moratorium, August auto sales, and stock-specific developments remain the key domestic triggers. Apart from these, news on the Covid-19 front and the India-China ties will also influence sentiment.  

In the US, the Dow Jones rose 0.76 per cent overnight, the S&P 500 gained 0.75 per cent, and the Nasdaq added 1.39 per cent. Asian shares also gained in Wednesday's early deals with Japan's Nikkei rising half a per cent. Besides, Australian ASX 200 gained 1,5 per cent and Kospi traded 0.3 per cent higher.

Back home, the Supreme Court will today hear and decide on a bunch of petitions demanding waiver of interest during the moratorium period. Yesterday, the Centre and the RBI informed the apex court that the moratorium on repayment of loans must be extendable to two years under certain conditions.

Meanwhile, after a 23.9 per cent decline in Q1, major rating agencies have raised their projections of the contraction of India’s economy in the current fiscal year, with some anticipating a double-digit fall. This includes Nomura, which has revised its projection for GDP fall to 10.8 per cent against the 6.1 per cent it said earlier while SBI Research has projected the economy will fall by 10.9 per cent in FY21 against its earlier estimate of 6.8 per cent.

Moody's has warned that India will be among the large emerging market sovereigns to have the highest debt burden by 2021.

The August automobile sales for most companies, announced yesterday, signalled a sharp recovery which also prompted swift moves in the respective stocks. Companies like Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, and Eicher Motors have shown a rebound in sales, and, as such, investors will today keep a keen eye on the sales figures of the rest of the automakers today.

Furthermore, India's Covid-19 trends remain a key monitorable for investors. On Tuesday, India recorded 68,770 new cases of coronavirus, taking its total caseload to 37.66 lakh. India's death toll has now breached the 66,000 mark.

On the results front, ONGC has posted an 82 per cent decline in its consolidated profit before tax for the first quarter of FY21 to Rs 2,012 crore. The gross revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 62,496 crore, down 43 per cent YoY.

A total of 69 companies including Coal India, Arvind Fashions, and Jubilant FoodWorks are scheduled to announce their June quarter earnings today

And now, a quick look at other top headlines.

After the Supreme Court's judgement yesterday that telecom companies should pay their AGR dues in 10 years' time, Vodafone Idea has announced that its board will meet to consider on September 4 fund raising via QIP and other instruments.

GST collections slumped to a three-month low in August, and came in 12 per cent lower year-on-year at Rs 86,449 crore. However, compensation cess collections rose for the first time in five months amid the tussle between the Centre and states.