Market Ahead, November 12: Top factors that could guide markets today

Media reports about another stimulus package by the government before Diwali will be the main trigger for the Indian markets today. A Reuters report said that the Centre is likely to unveil another stimulus package of about $20 billion this week focusing on stressed sectors, middle-income groups in urban and rural areas, and employment generation before Diwali.

Besides, investors will also digest an assessment by several RBI staff that the Indian economy can turn around by the third quarter. The RBI staff calculated that after a steep decline of 23.9 per cent in GDP in the first quarter, the pace of contraction may have eased to 8.6 per cent in the second quarter.

Besides, market participants will track global cues, macro data, corporate results, and foreign fund flow even as the weekly derivative expiry is set to inject volatility.

On the macro front, industrial production and inflation data are scheduled to be announced today.

Coal India on Wednesday reported 16.3 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,948 crore for September quarter on the back of higher expenses. Indiabulls Housing Finance reported nearly 54 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 323 crore for the same quarter.

Moreover, State-owned Power Grid Corporation posted an over 20 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,094 crore in the September quarter, mainly due to higher revenues.

A total of 808 companies including Eicher Motors, IRCTC, and Jubilant FoodWorks are set to declare their quarterly earnings today.

Aviation stocks are likely to advance today after the government increased the cap on the number of domestic flights that Indian airlines are permitted to operate from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their pre-Covid levels.

And The IPO of Gland Pharma managed to sail through on the back of institutional investor support, even as individual investors shunned the issue. The institutional investor portion of the IPO was subscribed 6.4 times. Meanwhile, the high networth individual  portion was subscribed 51 per cent, and retail investor portion subscribed just 24 per cent.

And, in the end, let's have a quick look at the global cues.

US stocks ended mixed overnight. The Nasdaq closed up 2 per cent as investors switched back to technology stocks and away from economically sensitive sectors as they weighed Covid-19 vaccine progress and the likely timing of an economic rebound. Meanwhile, the Dow fell 0.08 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 0.77 per cent.

Stocks in Asia were set to continue their gains on Thursday, buoyed again by continued global stimulus efforts and hopes of a coronavirus vaccine.

Australian ASX 200 shares dipped 0.3 per cent in early trading, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6 per cent and Hong Kong's main index rose 0.45 per cent.

Owing to the mixed global trends, the SGX Nifty was under a slight pressure, trading at 12,734 levels, down 31 points.