Market Ahead Podcast, May 20: Top factors that could guide markets today

Amid mixed cues from global peers, Indian markets looked set to open higher after a one-day hiatus, boosted by a positive trend in fresh Covid cases and a healthy earnings season. Besides, investors will weigh Federal Reserve minutes that flagged the possibility of a debate on scaling back asset purchases. High volatility cannot be ruled out on account of weekly F&O expiry.

At 7.30 am, SGX Nifty was up 27 points at 15,061.

In the overnight session, Wall Street's main indices closed lower after minutes from the April Federal Reserve meeting showed participants agreed the US economy remained far from the central bank's goals, with some considering discussions on tapering its bond-buying program.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.48%, the S&P 500 lost 0.29% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.03%.

In Asian markets, the stocks were steady as Japan’s Topix index rose 0.1%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6% and South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.5%.

Meanwhile, crude prices remained soft after an over 3% crash on Wednesday on worries that surging Covid-19 cases in Asia would dent demand for crude and amid possible US rate hikes. Brent crude was down 0.05% at $66.63 per dollar earlier today.

That apart, massive action was witnessed in the crypto market with bitcoin plunging as much as 30% to its lowest level since January following China's decision to ban financial and payment institutions from providing digital currency services. The currency recouped some losses and was last trading around $35,000 level as against $30,000 it touched yesterday.

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

Havells India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, HPCL and Torrent Power are among 32 firms slated to post their quarterly numbers today.

Fertiliser stocks will be in focus today after the central government announced an increase in the subsidy for di-ammonium phosphate fertiliser to Rs 1,200 per bag from Rs 500 per bag. The price of fertilisers is increasing amid higher prices of raw inputs like phosphoric acid and ammonia, among others.

The Rs 4,000-crore share sale in Axis Bank was subscribed more than two times on Wednesday. The 52.27-million-share offer for sale (OFS) saw bids for nearly 135 million shares from non-retail investors. About 5.8 million shares reserved for retail investors will be auctioned today.

Tanla Platforms reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 102.54 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021 as against a net loss of Rs 89.12 crore in the year-ago period.

Mortgage financier Indiabulls Housing Finance on Wednesday reported a two-fold jump in its profit after tax to Rs 276 crore in the quarter ended March 2021 helped by stable asset quality.