Equities set to open flat; Infosys, Wipro likely to set the direction

Indian stock markets are expected to open in a narrow range on Wednesday as mixed cues emerge from Asian markets and SGX Nifty. The SGX Nifty futures is currently ruling at 14,626 as against the Nifty futures' Tuesday closing of 14,624.

Asian stocks in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia are trading slightly higher while China market is in the red. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 31,068.69, the S&P 500 gained 1.58 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 3,801.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 36.00 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 13,072.43.

However, the quarterly financial performance of Infosys and Wipro will set the market direction. While Infy will always announce the results ahead of market opening, Wipro after-market hours.

Other companies that will declare results included CESC Ltd, GTPL Hathway, 5Paisa Capital, and Harita Seating Systems Ltd.

Stocks to watch

Metal and mineral  companies will remain in focus, as the Union cabinet is most likely to consider a proposal of mining sector reform for enhancing private investment, in the meeting scheduled for January 13. Amendments in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 have been proposed, sources said.

Bharti Airtel  on Tuesday said pursuant to the FDI approval in January 2020 granted to it by the DoT, the company has received necessary consents for its relevant downstream investments. Bharti Airtel further said it is initiating the process to revise its foreign investment limit, as notified to its depositories, to 100 per cent with immediate effect.

The stock will see a buying momentum, as FPIs will have more headroom to buy the stock and the high possibility of higher weightage in MSCI and FTSE global indices.

 Hero MotoCorp : The company Has expanded its presence in Central America. The company appointed new distributor partners in Nicaragua and Honduras, with aggressive expansion plans for both countries. The company will launch a range of premium motorcycles in both countries and expand its network with extensive customer touch-points and flagship stores in key markets.

Tech Mahindra : The tech major is all set to acquire Payments Technology Services. The acquisition will be made for cash consideration of $9 million. The transaction is expected to be completed by March 31, 2021. The company said that the acquired capabilities in the payment space are consistent with pivoting the business towards product & platform implementation.

Bharat Rasayan:  The board has approved buyback of up to 93,472 shares of Rs 10 each, comprising of 2.20 per cent of the company's total paid-up equity capital. The buyback price of Rs 11,500 per share is an 11.1 per cent premium to Tuesday's closing price. The overall cost of the buyback process would be Rs 107 crore.

Dishman Carbogen Amcis : OFS for Non-retail investors gets demand for 66.8 lakh shares compared to the 54.6 lakh on offer, said Chola Securities. Bids were received at an indicative price of Rs 140.11 a share. Further, the company will exercise the Oversubscription Option to the extent of 32.1 lakh equity shares, in addition to the Base Offer Size. Accordingly, the total Offer Size will now be 92.8 lakh equity shares representing 5.92% of the company's total paid-up equity share capital. The OFS for retail investors opens for subscription today.

BASF:  The National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai, has approved its proposal to merge BASF Performance Polyamides India, a wholly-owned subsidiary, with itself, effective February 1, 2021.

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