Market prospects to remain high; Bharti, Hero MotoCorp, focus on bank stocks

Stocks were mixed on Friday as risks to a global recovery from China and the prospect of a lower Federal Reserve stimulus tempered sentiment. Iron ore was on a record weekly bearish track.

Equities rose in Japan and were volatile in Hong Kong and China, where traders are tracking the fallout from Beijing’s regulatory action as well as the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group. Miners snatched away Australian stocks amid a return to iron ore on China’s push to rein in its steel industry.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped. US stocks mostly closed lower after swinging between gains and losses ahead of Friday’s quarterly expiration of options and futures, which could trigger volatility.

Telecom disputes appellate body TDSAT on Thursday stayed the demand of Department of Telecom ₹1,376 crore from Bharti Airtel in past dues owed to telco Videocon Telecommunications. The dues belonged to Videocon Telecom, whose spectrum was acquired by the Sunil Mittal-led carrier in 2016. And so the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), following the Supreme Court’s decision on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) last year, asked Airtel to pay the dues on that spectrum.

Hero MotoCorp on Thursday informed that it will increase the prices of its motorcycles and scooters with effect from Monday, September 20. Hero MotoCorp has attributed the rise in commodity prices to the rise in prices. Hero MotoCorp’s motorcycles and scooters will be expensive to buy from Monday ₹3,000

government wants to settle ₹2 trillion worth of bad loans and provisions have been made in the next five years ₹30,600 crore guarantee for return of security receipts issued by the newly formed National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) against stressed assets.

Treasury yields and the dollar remained high after a surprise strengthening in US retail sales, which eased concerns over delta tensions and highlighted the case for the Fed to roll back ultra-lax policy. Jobless claims have increased, possibly reflecting volatility in weekly data as the labor market broadly recovers.

Global equities are on course for a second weekly decline, moderated by the impact of delta tensions on economic reopening, the impact of high inflation and the turmoil in China. The Fed’s policy meeting next week is another potential source of volatility as traders await more clues about the timeline for bond purchases and eventual interest rate hikes.

Oil was stable, while a declining trend in iron ore threatens to push futures below $100 a tonne. A drop of gold fell. An index of commodity prices has slipped but remains on track to hit a record in 2011, underscoring concerns of inflation rippling through the world economy.

(Bloomberg contributed to the story)