Sensex, Nifty to open on a positive note

Global indices are well in the green with Wall Street boosted by US economic data. Investors hope that will minimise some of the worries of a China-led global slowdown. Nifty futures rollover stood at three-month average range of 67%. Nifty open interest has risen to Rs. 17,100 crore as agains Rs. 14,400 crore at August start.

The September series is set to begin on a smiling note with the world and its markets upbeat for now. The August series too had begun with a bag but what happened after that was a different story. For a country as big and populous as India, reforms cannot be shots in the dark, subjecting the economy to great uncertainty and risk," RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said in the central bank’s annual report released on Thursday. Stressing on the importance of reforms, he noted that incremental policy change was essential for strengthening the economy and putting it back on a high-growth trajectory.

The outlook is a positive start. Global indices are well in the green with Wall Street boosted by US economic data. Investors hope that will minimise some of the worries of a China-led global slowdown. Nifty futures rollover stood at three-month average range of 67%. Nifty open interest has risen to Rs. 17,100 crore as agains Rs. 14,400 crore at August start. This could trigger a sharper fall should sentiment get hit.

Japan’s Nikkei is up over 2% and most Asian markets are doing well including China. Crude oil futures traded in New York surged by more than 10% on Thursday in the wake of a report that Venezuela has asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to hold an emergency meeting.

Quality mid-caps are set to gain today. IIFL’s two-day Small and Mid-Cap Investors’ Conference concluded on Thursday. 13 companies and nearly 100 investors attended on the first day. Investors evinced keen interest in meeting these companies, many of which could be potential winners in the long-term.

Late in the evening, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will release a book, 'Globalisation Democratisation and Distributive Justice.'

Allahabad Bank will consider issue of equity shares on preferential basis.

Chaman Lal Setia Exports will consider sub-division of equity shares.

Earnings for Procter Gamble Hygiene & Health Care will be released today. Other results include Adhunik Metaliks, Andhra Cements, C&C Constructions, Mount Shivalik Industries, Net 4 India, Rr Financial Consultants, Sanghi Industries, Sterling International Enterprises, Lumax Automotive Systems And Innoventive Industries.

The rupee could weaken as banks may buy dollars today after US jobless data was better than expected.

The Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have reached a consensus on the structure for the proposed interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha said on Thursday.
Sequoia Capital has been the most active VC investor in the pharmaceutical sector during this year. The Silicon Valley-based venture capital (VC) firm has invested nearly US$90 million across six deals in Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare firms over the past year.

The number of cases getting piled up at the debt recovery tribunal (DRT) has reportedly ballooned amid surging bad loans. At the end of December 2014, a total of 59,645 cases involving INR 3.74 trillion of bank loans were pending before DRTs, according to a financial daily. This is up from 47,933 cases involving INR 1.78 trillion of loans at the end of 2013.

The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reconstituted its Takeover Panel, which looks into the applications seeking exemption from the mandatory open offer to minority shareholders. The newly notified Takeover Panel would be chaired by N.K. Sodhi, the former chief justice of the high courts of Karnataka and Kerala and also the former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

Public sector oil retailers - IOC, HPCL and BPCL - have reportedly issued a local tender to buy 2.7 billion litres of ethanol to be blended with petrol. The amount sought by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) is ~10% of India’s estimated petrol demand for FY16, according to reports. They want supplies from December this year to November next year, according to tender documents.

The Delhi government has yet again rejected the application of Ola Cabs for a license to run its taxi service in the national capital. The Government heard views of Ola Cabs during a hearing, but it is not satisfied, according to a financial daily.

The Finance Ministry has said that the Unique Identification Number (UID), or Aadhaar, should be used only for the distribution of foodgrains, kerosene and cooking gas. It has also stated that seeding of Aadhaar numbers into a database will be voluntary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over predatory pricing being charged by the domestic airlines, as it is giving a bad name to the industry.  "It (predatory pricing) is a concern of a majority of Parliamentarians, including the Prime Minister, and needs to be addressed," Minister of State for Aviation Mahesh Sharma said on Thursday.

SpiceJet is in talks with aircraft makers for fresh orders and funding is not an issue for the airline, Ajay Singh, the budget carrier's promoter said on Thursday. “We have not discussed any specific numbers, but we expect the aircraft order will be a sizeable one. Negotiations have been on for a while and we expect to complete the negotiations and place the order this financial year,” Singh said on the sidelines of a Civil Aviation conference in New Delhi.

Talks between the Government and the Trade Unions remain inconclusive, as the latter have turned down the Centre’s proposal on minimum wages. Although the Government has agreed to consider the four key demands of the central trade unions, the same has not met the expectations of the majority of trade unions barring the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.