Market Ahead, March 16: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

In the overnight session, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at record highs as investors eyed economic recovery from the coronavirus and awaited cues from the Federal Reserve this week amid caution over rising borrowing costs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53% while the S&P 500 gained 0.65%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.05%.

In Asia too, equities traded with modest gains tracking a record close for Wall Street and as Treasury yields edged lower to 1.60% from 1.64% hit last week. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.24%, Japan's Nikkie index added 0.76% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.52%.

Amid a firm global setup and weakness in crude prices, indices back home looked set to snap their 2-day losing run. At 7.30 am, SGX Nifty futures were up 0.30% at 14,990. Besides, global cues, stock-specific triggers and Covid-related news are likely to guide the market direction today.

That apart, investors will also take cognisance of the macroeconomic data released last evening. While  India's trade deficit gap narrowed to $12.16 billion from over $14 billion in January, the pace of growth in exports in February also declined to just 0.67% against 6.16% in January due to subdued external demand because of Covid-19.

Now, a look at the stock-specific triggers that are likely to guide the market today:

Offer for sale (OFS) to divest the government’s shareholding in Tata Communications will open Tuesday for institutional investors. The government will sell its 10 per cent stake held in erstwhile VSNL, with an option to sell an additional 6.12 per cent stake. The floor price has been set at Rs 1,161, a 9.8% discount to Monday's closing price.

AU Small Finance Bank has raised Rs 625.50 crore through the sale of shares to institutional investors.

Adani Ports will partner with John Keells Holdings PLC and Sri Lankan Port Authority to develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo port in Sri Lanka.

The board of IndiGrid Investment Managers will meet on Tuesday to decide on a proposal related to raising Rs 1,500 crore through a rights issue

Now, an update on the primary market.

The Rs 1,175-crore IPO by Kalyan Jewellers will open for subscription today. The issue is priced in the range of Rs 86-87 per share. Most analysts covering the issue believe that brand recall and a strong pan-India presence makes Kalyan Jewellers a long-term bet, with profitability and balance sheet projected to improve. The company raised Rs 352 crore from anchor investors on Monday.

Meanwhile, the issue by Anupam Rasayan was subscribed 3.64 times on Day 2 of the bidding process and will close for subscription today. The IPOs by Laxmi Organic and Craftsman were subscribed 2.28 times and 55%, respectively on Day 1 of the bidding process.