Market Ahead, October 27: All you need to know before the opening bell

The SGX Nifty was trading 50 odd points higher at 11,840 levels at 7:30 AM, indicating a gap-up opening for the Indian markets today. This comes despite a weak set of global cues.

US indices fell sharply to open the week’s trading, as anxiety over new record daily COVID-19 cases in the United States, Russia and France weighed on investor appetite. The Dow fell 2.3 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 1.86 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.64 per cent.

Asian markets also declined on Tuesday. Australia’s ASX 200 fell 1.6 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.2 per cent. Hong Kong’s main index also slid half a per cent.

Back home, corporate results will remain the key trigger for the Indian markets. Investors will first react to the results announced post market hours yesterday.

Despite a dip in its US and Brazil revenues, Torrent Pharmaceuticals yesterday posted a 27 per cent year-on-year growth in its consolidated profit after tax for the September quarter of FY21 at Rs 310 crore. Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services’ net profit rose by 21 per cent to Rs 304 crore in Q2FY21, from Rs 252 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

A total of 37 companies including Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, and Amara Raja Batteries are scheduled to announce their September quarter earnings today.

Analysts expect Bharti Airtel's losses to shrink and revenue rise on year-on-year basis, helped by firm subscriber addition and ARPU rise in an otherwise seasonally weak quarter. Meanwhile, Tata Motors is seen reporting muted numbers in year-on-year terms, largely due to fall in JLR volume.

Meanwhile, in a big positive for India, MSCI will implement changes in Foreign Ownership Limits in the MSCI Global Indexes containing Indian securities coinciding with the November 20202 Semi-Annual index review.

On the Covid front, India's total cases have risen to 79.45 lakh, with 1.19 lakh deaths, according to the latest update by Worldometer.

And now a quick look at other top news

State-owned power giant NTPC on Monday said its board will on November 2 consider a proposal to buy back the company's equity shares.

Hulst B V, the promoter of IT firm Coforge Ltd, on Monday sold 38 lakh shares of the company for more than Rs 878 crore. Hulst B V held 70.28 per cent stake in the company, as per the shareholding pattern as on September quarter.

Aditya Puri yesterday stepped out of HDFC Bank's corporate headquarters after handing over charge to Sashidhar Jagdishan as the new chief executive and managing director of the largest private sector lender.

Aurobindo Pharma has reached a definitive agreement to sell its US subsidiary Natrol LLC to private equity firm New Mountain Capital and its affiliate Jarrow Formulas in an all-cash transaction valued at $550 million.