NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on August 21

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open on a flat note on Friday, August 21, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Gandhinagar advanced 36 points to 24,330 amid positive cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply higher on Thursday. The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) benchmark NIFTY50 index snapped its seven-day losing streak and SENSEX surged as much as 701 points mirroring gains in global markets.

The SENSEX ended 628 points higher at 77,537.72 and NIFTY50 index surged 154 points or 0.64% to close at 24,231.85.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.09%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.7%, South Korea's KOSPI gained 1.2% while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4%.

Wall Street update

Overnight, US stock ended sharply lower on Thursday as oil prices, worries about high inflation and the US government’s rising debt kept investors cautious.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.32%, S&P 500 index declined 0.9% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 1%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹583.36 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹3,537.71 crore, as per NSE data.

FIIs have so far this month bought shares worth ₹23,815 crore, data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.

Stocks to watch

Bhalotia will lead the group's growth, business development and revenue practice management, besides overseeing the people agenda.

In his new role, he will drive 360 One's business development strategy across its wealth, asset management and capital businesses. This will cover ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW), high-net-worth (HNW) and non-resident Indian (NRI) clients, as well as institutional mandates and key global markets.

The Singapore office will help Coal India Ltd (CIL) expand its critical minerals business, pursue overseas asset acquisitions, they said.

Coal India has already applied with Singapore authorities to register the office, which will also support efforts to acquire mineral assets overseas.

There is still significant headroom in both premiumisation and per capita consumption for the category, she said, speaking at the recent analyst meet.

Only about 19% of the toothpaste market is currently sitting above the premium price index, lagging significantly behind other FMCG categories such as soaps and shampoos, she said.

The company, which expanded its automotive solutions portfolio with the launch of two advanced offerings under its primary foundry alloy (PFA) range, said its two new products have been specially developed to support the automotive industry's growing need for vehicles that are lighter, more efficient, and built to perform under demanding conditions.

India's automotive industry is rapidly evolving, creating demand for lighter, stronger and more sophisticated material solutions. Aluminium is uniquely positioned to meet these parameters through its versatile combination of lightweighting, strength, durability, resistance to corrosion, and high recyclability, Vedanta Aluminium Metal CEO Rajesh Kumar said.

Under the partnership, Federal Bank will offer customised inventory financing solutions that enable the company's dealers to optimise working capital, maintain healthy vehicle inventory, and respond to growing customer demand, Vinfast India -- the subsidiary of Vietnamese automotive maker VinFast -- said.

The financing solutions are designed to strengthen dealers' operational capabilities while supporting the company's continued network expansion across the country, it said.

Welspun Corp: The company said it has secured the largest single order in its history — valued at approx $1.8 billion (nearly ₹17,200 crore) — for the supply of pipes from its manufacturing facility in the United States of America (USA). "This record-breaking order is the single largest ever awarded to the company and marks a defining milestone in its global growth trajectory, reaffirming its leadership position as a trusted, large-scale partner to the global energy and infrastructure sector," it said.

To control prices, the government has also imposed a stockholding limit on bulk consumers who use more than 10 tonnes of sugar a month, capping their stock at 15 days' consumption.

Sugar stocks could react negatively as sugar mills have benefited from record ex-mill prices. Higher imports increase supply, which could cap further price hikes and weigh on margins.