Sensex, Nifty see relief rally; rupee gains 50 paise

Oil bounced back from heavy losses today but global oversupply and worries over the severity of the economic slowdown in China, the world’s top commodity consumer, kept prices near 6-1/2-year lows. European equity markets recovered today but Chinese stock markets closed down more than 7 percent, with panic selling intensifying after the flagship Shanghai Composite Index crashed through key support at 3,000 points. US crude, also known at West Texas Intermediate or WTI, was up 65 cents at USD 38.89 a barrel, while Brent was up 60 cents at USD 43.29. Oil prices dropped to their lowest since early 2009 on Monday and many analysts think market fundamentals will keep prices low, despite Tuesday’s slight uplift. 3:00 pm Market update: Equity benchmarks, amid volatility, continued to maintain momentum with the Sensex climbing 216.22 points to 25957.78 and the Nifty rising 60.45 points to 7869.45. Vedanta (up 8 percent) and ICICI Bank (up 5 percent) topped the buying list on Sensex. Coal India and Tata Motors, too, rallied nearly 5 percent followed by Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, SBI, NTPC, ONGC, Cipla and Tata Steel with 2-4 percent upside. However, HDFC, L&T and Maruti Suzuki underperformed, down 1-2 percent. Infosys, HDFC Bank, Wipro, TCS, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto were marginally in red. The broader markets also traded in line with benchmarks; the BSE Midcap gained 1.8 percent and Smallcap rose 0.8 percent. However, the market breadth remained weak as about 1075 shares have advanced against 1579 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The currency recovered sharply in last hour of trade. The rupee gained 55 paise or 0.83 percent to trade at 66.09 a dollar after hitting day’s low of 66.76 in early trade. It is set to make the biggest intraday gains since March 2014. 2:55 pm Rate cut possible?: Global factors like fallout of China’s move to devalue its currency and clarity on the US Fed action may impact RBI’s policy action next month, a DBS report says. “If recent depreciation pressure on the rupee persists, we suspect that the central bank will be wary of lowering rates further,” DBS said in a research note. It noted that if the markets settle in the run-up to next month’s review and the US Fed pushes back rate hikes into next year, the RBI will have the legroom to lower benchmark rates. Altogether “a close call”, DBS said. The chances of a rate cut in September has risen after below-than-expected July CPI inflation. Moreover, impact of below normal rains this month has been largely contained, which along with base effects, will keep August CPI below 4 percent, the report said. In addition, renewed slowdown in crude prices is likely to suppress tradables inflation, and subdued corporate performance made a clear case for further rate cut. “While domestic factors fall into place, the RBI will be mindful of the external environment,” the DBS report said. 2:45 pm Is recovery sustainable?: Global markets showed signs of recovery on Tuesday after the bruising sell-off just the day before. Manish Singh, Chief Strategist & Head of Investments at Crossbridge Capital LLP cautions that the bounce back may not sustain. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Singh says US and European markets appear oversold, but the situation in emerging markets (EMs), especially China, remains uncertain. He feels the Chinese government’s passive stance is causing confusion among the investors. Unless there is some intervention by the government, the Shanghai Index could fall further, he says. Singh is underweight on emerging markets and says global investors will be picky while betting in this space. He recommends India as a good long term buy. 2:35 pm Real estate investment rises: As per global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report on Private Equity investments in Real Estate (PERE), the total inflows in the sector for H1 2015 were Rs 11,080 crore as against Rs 4,000 crore same period last year. PERE investments nearly tripled and also witnessed the highest inflows during the January-June period since 2008, owing to increased exposure from both domestic and foreign funds. The total number of deals increased by 44 percent to 39 during H1 2015 as compared to 27 during the same period a year ago. The average deal size nearly doubled (increased 93 percent) and was noted at Rs 290 crore compared to Rs 150 crore in H1 2014. The increase in PERE investments during H1 2015 was on account of continued increase in interest in commercial office and residential assets which nearly tripled (3.2 times and 2.8 times respectively) compared to the same period a year ago. 2:25 pm Dabur crashes: FMCG major Dabur India lost 3 percent after US drug regulator United States Food & Drug Administration issued an import alert to company’s Alwar unit. It manufactures ayurvedic & herbal cosmetics, Hajmola, chavyanprash, Amla hair oil & Red Tooth powder in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. 2:20 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to be volatile in trade today due to lack of trigger and ahead of expiry of August Nifty derivative contracts (on Thursday). The Sensex gained 162.27 points at 25903.83 and the Nifty advanced 26.55 points to 7835.55. The broader markets also recovered but the market breadth remained negative. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. About 1014 shares have advanced, 1596 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged on the BSE. 2:10 pm Expert on China: The panic seen in global markets on Monday was a bit overdone, feels Jan Dehn of Ashmore Investment. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Dehn says the ongoing tumoil in China is a fall out of the reforms the government is trying to implement. “I think it is very important to understand that the volatility in the market is ultimately a consequence of China trying to make very serious forward looking economic reforms and I think the markets are typically not very patient then we will want to see immediate results,” says Dehn. 1:55 pm Special session for GST possible?: Amid moves to call a special session of Parliament for passage of Goods and Services Tax Bill, Government today reached out to Congress but the opposition party remained non-committal on its support saying it would first read the fine print. “They (government) want to call a special session and they are consulting all parties it seems. Unless we see what are the amended clauses or what is the agreement between the proposal of the standing committee and government, unless we see the final bill, we cannot comment on that,” Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said. He was speaking after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu met Kharge to discuss the issue. The senior Congress leader said that one has to see which provisions have been accepted or deleted in the bill. “They should also send a copy of the bill. What are the new provisions added, which provisions were deleted, what are the proposals accepted by them which were suggested by Congress or other parties, reasonable objections. That should be seen,” he said. He asserted that the GST bill has to be passed by both the houses of Parliament “separately” and not by calling just a joint session. “The GST bill should be passed in both the houses separately. It cannot be called a joint session or so. I do not think they will call session. For that also 14 days notice is required,” he said. Congress which had initiated the GST Bill in 2006 is strongly opposed to it in the present form and is insisting on three key amendments. 1:45 pm Modi’s US visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to interact with technology and business leaders and focus on innovation, digital economy and renewable energy during his US trip next month, a top Indian diplomat has said. Modi is expected to travel to the US late September to attend the 70th annual session of the UN General Assembly. While no official announcement has been made yet, Modi is scheduled to travel to San Francisco to address the Indian- American community in the Silicon Valley on September 27. More than 25,000 people have signed up for the event at the SAP Centre, which has a seating capacity of 18,000. Both in New York and in San Jose hub of the Silicon Valley Modi is likely to meet people, experts and corporate leaders to further his twin agendas of inclusive growth and fast-tracking economic development. “The Prime Minister is expected to be here in the US in September in New York and in California. During his visit to California he would also interact with people representing the technology and business sector, wherein there would be emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation, digital economy and renewable energy,” Indian Ambassador Arun K Singh told PTI. 1:35 pm Onion prices fall: Wholesale prices of onion today fell below the Rs 50 per kg mark at the Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, Asia’s biggest onion market, due to curbs on exports and fear of action against hoarding. Even at Azadpur mandi in Delhi, wholesale onion price declined by Rs 3-5 per kg to Rs 53 today on increase in arrival of new crop from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. However, retail onion prices across the country continue to rule as high as Rs 80 per kg. At Lasalgaon, which sets the price trend across the country, the wholesale onion price declined to Rs 48.5 per kg today from Rs 57 per kg last week, according to the data maintained by Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF). “Prices declined due to increase in arrival in the mandis,” NHRDF Director R P Gupta said. Arrival of onion increased as farmers/traders brought more stock for sale after the government imposed restriction on overseas sale by raising export price sharply to USD 700 per tonne from USD 425, Nashik-based traders said. 1:25 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices extended rally in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 227.76 points or 0.88 percent to 25969.32 and the Nifty climbing 67.90 points or 0.87 percent to 7876.90. Ace investor Wilbur Ross said he is relatively positive on India. He believes it is a good time to add stocks to the portfolio. Prashant Jain of HDFC MF feels market looks attractive at current levels while Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley says this is not the time to turn bearish and sell out. 1:15 pm Leading gainers: ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, HUL and ONGC rallied 2-4 percent. NTPC, which was down more than 6 percent intraday, gained 5 percent in afternoon trade on short covering. Coal India maintained its uptrend since early trade, up 3 percent. 1:05 pm Market Expert: Speaking straight from the dealing room Dilip Bhat, Joint MD, Prabhudas Liladher told CNBC-TV18’s Mangalam Maloo that it looks like investor confidence has been rattled and selling could continue but this is only an aberration and a opportunity to buy on dips. These type of events happen every year for a couple of times and the entire market gets routed but if you look at India in specific, there is not much downward scope from these levels,” said Bhat. 12:55 pm Rupee turns strong: The Indian currency recovered from its day’s low, up 12 paise to 66.51 against dollar. It touched an intraday low of 66.76 a dollar. 12.45 pm Market rebounds: Equity benchmarks rebounded amid volatility, tracking strong opening of European markets. The Sensex gained 24.95 points at 25766.51 after seeing more than 400 points fall intraday. The Nifty rose 6.20 points to 7815.20 after falling below the 7700 level intraday. The market breadth slightly improved. About 653 shares have advanced against 1848 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 12:40 pm Global Update: China’s Shanghai Composite index crashed to 2965 at close, the lowest level in 2015, down 7.6 percent (in addition to 8.5 percent fall in previous session). US futures recovered sharply from day’s low with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures trading 2 percent higher each. European markets also opened strong. France CAC and Britain’s FTSE gained 1.7 percent each after yesterday’s mayhem. 12:35 pm IPO Analysis: Considering the healthy balance sheet, strong growth prospects and improving profitability, Nirmal Bank recommends subscribing the issue Shree Pushkar Chemicals and Fertilisers for listing as well long term gains. “Between FY11-15 SIL?s revenues grew at CAGR of 19.5% while EBIDTA grew at a CAGR of 35.3% and PAT by impressive 61.3%. We expect SPCFL to maintain 25-30% growth going forward, on the back of expansion. On the valuation front, at the upper price of band of Rs 61-Rs 65, SPCFL is commanding at PE of 10.5x of FY15, which we believe is attractive,” it reasoned. 12:30 pm Fundamental weakness?: The U-Turn in late morning trade that took Nifty below 7690 does not signal any fundamental weakness, says Ridham Desai, managing director at Morgan Stanley and refuted that panicking FIIs are in a hurry to exit India. Instead, he said most FIIs are still overweight India. “I hesitate to think that this is the beginning of a bear market and would call it a bull market correction.” He also added that this is not the time to turn bearish since India has more or less rebalanced its economy. Desai said India got impacted because emerging market got hit by China issues. In this scenario, he finds banks have turned very attractive. He also believes industrials, technology and consumption plays will reward investors in the coming months. 12:20 pm Movers & Shakers: NTPC bounced back very rapidly, up more than 4 percent after seeing more than 6 percent fall in morning session. ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, SBI, Tata Motors, M&M, Coal India, Vedanta, Tata Steel and GAIL gained 1-3 percent. However, Infosys, ITC, L&T, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Lupin, Sun Pharma, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto dropped 1-3 percent. 12:10 pm Market trims losses: Equity benchmarks cut down losses in noon trade with the Sensex falling 155.93 points to 25585.63. The Nifty clawed back above the 7700 level, down 47.95 points to 7761.05. The market breadth remained weak as about 438 shares have advanced against 2032 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 12:03 pm BoAML on India: The equity market should continue to be rangebound in the near term, given the global uncertainty and weak earnings, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch. It believes valuations have moderated but are still above average. “Based on current earnings forecasts, the BSE Sensex is now trading at 15.3x 12-month estimated forward earnings, which is largely in-line with historical average of 14.5x. However, adjusting for earnings downgrades to consensus Sensex EPS estimates, index is trading at ~16.1x 12-month estimated forward earnings which is still ~12% premium to long term averages,” it explained. 11:58 am Stocks break 200 DMA: Hindustan Unilever, Bosch, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and TCS breached its 200-day moving average. 11:50 am Rout continues: The panic selling continued in late morning trade. The Sensex crashed 415.82 points or 1.62 percent to 25325.74 and the Nifty cracked 128.60 points or 1.65 percent to 7680.40. The broader markets saw major fall compared to benchmarks; the CNX Midcap dropped 2.6 percent and BSE Smallcap tanked 3.9 percent. More than 2000 shares have declined against 350 shares advanced on the BSE. 11:45 am Arvind arm to list: Arvind Infrastructure, the subsidiary of textile and apparel maker Arvind, will list its equity shares on Wednesday (August 26). Arvind had transferred its real estate business to Arvind Infra that issued 1 share for every 10 shares held by the shareholders of Arvind. 11:35 am Buy on dips?: Echoing expert sentiments, Sachin Shah, fund manager at Emkay Investment Managers says that lower valuations are making the market more attractive. With the sell-off witnessed in last two days, the valuations have become reasonable, Shah told CNBC-TV18. He says there is possibility of further fall in market. 11:25 am Rupee Outlook: It is sentiment that is driving the current market and not the fundamentals, says Divya Devesh, ASIA FX strategist at Standard Chartered Bank. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Devesh says: “the fundamental problem still has not been solved, which means that the INR could still remain under pressure in the near-term.” He says this will continue till some fiscal or monetary measures are announced by the Chinese government. Devesh believes that “India is more insulated than the other Asian markets” and will bounce back in the long run. “66-67 per dollar looks like a reasonable range at least for this week,” says Devesh. He added that “if this equity turmoil continues, we could see a break of 67 per dollar.” With low commodity prices and reduced chances of US Federal Reserve rate hike, the year-end dollar INR forecast remains stable at 65, he says. 11:15 am Market Extends Losses: Equity benchmarks extended losses with the Nifty falling below 7700, down 110 points or 1.39 percent to 7698. The Sensex plunged 353.14 points or 1.37 percent to 25388.42. The broader markets, too, were under pressure as the BSE Midcap lost 1.5 percent and Smallcap tumbled 2.6 percent. About five shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The rupee erased all its morning gains, down 2 paise to 66.66 a dollar. 11:05 am FII View: Ben Luk, Global Market Strategist, JP Morgan Asset Management in an interview to CNBC-TV18 said it is important that investors stay composed in these volatile periods and long-term focus on fundamentals. Most equity markets, according to him, have already priced in the concerns with regards to slowdown in China because the economy has been weakening for many months now and not just last couple of weeks. From a 6-12 months perspective, he is overweight on developed market equities like US and Europe and underweight on emerging market (EM) equities. However, amongst the EMs, he is still positive on India and China. While for India although the earnings season wasn’t so good, but that has been factored in. The country is also likely to see further structural reforms and cleaner current account deficit, which makes it a positive story. With regards to China although it is seeing slower growth, the structurally concerns are improving, property prices are picking up and consumption is at higher levels now. Foreing investors are keenly watching if PM Modi can go through key reforms to lift private investments, which will give a boost to the Indian economy, said Luk. 10:55 am Market Check: The market wiped out gains again amid choppy trade. The Sensex dropped 74.36 points to 25667.20 and the Nifty fell 28.85 points to 7780.15, dragged by technology, pharma and capital goods stocks. The broader markets continued to see selling pressure as the BSE Midcap lost 0.6 percent and Smallcap declined 1.3 percent. About 608 shares have advanced against 1604 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 10:40 am Moody’s on India: Moody’s Investors Service today said it could upgrade India’s rating if the government’s reform agenda is implemented and key macroeconomic indicators like inflation remain under control over the next year. “India’s rating could be upgraded if Moody’s expectations of gradual but credit positive reforms are realised in actual policy implementation and if the recent improvement in inflation, fiscal and current account ratios is sustained,” it said. Moody’s has a ‘Baa3’ rating on India with a positive outlook. Since 2004, Moody’s has rated India at ‘Baa3’, the lowest investment grade just a notch above ‘junk’ status. “The rating could be upgraded if the above expectations are reflected in policy progress and macroeconomic indicators over the next year, and if we view this progress as sustainable,” it said in a report on the Indian Government. Moody’s said the positive outlook is based on the expectation of implemented policies which are likely to lower sovereign credit risk by stabilising inflation, improving the regulatory environment, increasing infrastructure investment while maintaining the ongoing improvement in fiscal ratios. 10:30 am IPO opens: The Rs 70-crore initial public offer of Shree Pushkar Chemicals & Fertilisers (SPCFL) has opened for subscription today (August 25). The price band is fixed at Rs 61-65 per equity share for the issue, which will close on August 27. The issue comprises of 20,26,589 shares for offer for sale. IFCI Venture Capital Fund, which infused growth capital of around Rs 15 crore, will reduce its stake from the current 11.30 percent via offer for sale. The Mumbai-based manufacturer of dye intermediates, acids, fertilisers and cattle feed supplements said the funds raised through fresh issue shares are proposed to be utilised for enhancing existing capacities and forward integration plan of manufacturing reactive dyes. 10:20 am Nomura on Coal India: The brokerage has retained buy rating on the stock but lowered target price to Rs 407 from Rs 417 earlier. It says the implied 12-month total return (including dividend yield) is 22 percent. Larger-than-expected magnitude of target disinvestment by the GOI together with management’s cautious commentary on near-term coal demand led to the 21 percent drop in Coal India’s stock price in the past fortnight. Nomura believes 7-8 percent year-on-year growth in offtake should materialise in FY16F, as coal demand picks up in the second-half of the year; fuel supply agreement realisation will remain steady and operational expenses will remain in check. Beyond FY16F, it believes that the sustained impetus to augment production & rail infrastructure should enable a FY16-20F offtake CAGR of 8.5 percent and a sizeable hike in notified coal prices in Q1FY17 together with higher third-party contracting + benign diesel prices will cushion pressure on margins. 10:10 am Market Expert: India has things going for it which is why it is definitely not a market to sell, says Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS. He lists soft commodity prices and deflationary trends as immediate positives that will benefit India. He sees 7500-7600 as good support level in the short term and says in 15-18 months all sectors, except commodities, will look good. Kapoor also sees the Reserve Bank cutting rates by 50-75 bps this year. However, he warned that Nifty can go down in the short run mirroring global pain with China as the epicentre of trouble (despite outperforming in relative term). He expects S&P 500 to fall to 1700 in the near term and emerging market to correct further 10-15 percent. Despite the uncertainty, he sees India as one of the best placed markets. “From here onwards, investors should look at every decline as a buying opportunity,” he said. 10:00 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks clawed back again amid volatility ahead of expiry of August Nifty derivative contracts (on Thursday). The Sensex gained 142.48 points at 25884.04 and the Nifty rose 41.35 points to 7850.35. The BSE Midcap also recovered, up half a percent but Smallcap remained under pressure, down 0.4 percent. The market breadth was weak as about 718 shares have advanced against 1237 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Coal India, Axis Bank, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Cairn India, Yes Bank and BPCL topped the buying list, up 2-5 percent. However, NTPC, GAIL, HDFC, Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel and Hero Motocorp lost 2-5 percent. 9:55 am L&T wins order: L&T Construction, the brand of Larsen & Toubro, has bagged orders worth Rs 1,563 crore, including breadthrough order in Malaysia. “The power transmission and distribution business of L&T Construction has won orders worth Rs 1563 crore in both international and domestic markets in July and August 2015,” said L&T in its filing. As a strategic breakthrough in the ASEAN market, a key order has received from Tenaga Nasional Berhad for the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a 500 KV double circuit transmission line in Malaysia, it added. 9:50 am IPO opens: Pennar Engineered Building Systems has opened its initial public offer for subscription today (August 25). The issue consists of a fresh issue of Rs 58 crore and an offer for sale of up to 55,16,141 equity shares by the selling shareholders. The price band is fixed at Rs 170-178 apiece for the issue, which is scheduled to be closed on August 27, 2015. Pennar Engineered Building Systems, a subsidiary of Pennar Industries (manufacturer of engineering products), is a custom designed building systems solutions provider. Its capabilities include designing, manufacturing, supply and assembly of custom designed building systems. The issue proceeds will be used for repayment in full or part of certain working capital facilities; financing the procurement of infrastructure (including software and hardware) for the expansion of design and engineering services; and general corporate purposes. 9:45 am Market down: The market gave up early gains on profit booking as investors may be preferring strategy of “sell of rallies”. The Sensex rose 3.89 points to 25745.45 and the Nifty advanced 8.40 points to 7817.40 amid consolidation. About 760 shares have advanced, 977 shares declined, and 55 shares are unchanged on the BSE. The broader markets slipped into red, down half a percent. 9:40 am Asia Update: Asian markets barring China recovered after seeing rout in previous session. Hang Seng, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted rallied 1.6-3 percent. Nikkei rose 0.5 percent. However, Shanghai Composite Index shed another 4.3 percent, in addition to 8.5 percent fall seen in previous session. 9:35 am Gainers & Losers: Shares of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, SBI, HUL, Cipla, Coal India, Hindalco Industries and Vedanta rallied 2-3.5 percent. However, HDFC, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, GAIL and Hero Motocorp continued to see selling pressure. 9:25 am Sell on rallies?: Sunil Garg, JPMorgan said most major markets were deeply oversold and in most cases nearly 3 standard deviation below 26-week moving average are suggesting a strong possibility of a rebound from these levels. Given the weak set up on monthly charts, he sees any rallies as selling opportunities. Ultimately Asian market direction will be set by S&P moves and reversing bearish view will require a combination of S&P reversing course and momentum divergences, Garg said. According to him, the Nifty support is seen around 7,600 on the downside. 9:15 am Market Opening: Equity benchmarks rebounded quite strongly, majorly led by short coverying after previous day’s rout. The Sensex climbed 308.79 points or 1.20 percent to 26050.35 and the Nifty rose 94.30 points or 1.21 percent to 7903.30. About 488 shares have advanced, 371 shares declined, and 33 shares are unchanged on the BSE. 9:05 am Market in Pre-Opening: The Sensex gained 45 points at 25,787 and the Nifty rose 72 points to 7878 in pre-opening session after yesterday’s rout led by global fall. The rupee also extended recovery to 66.41 a dollar, up 23 paise over 66.65 a dollar seen in previous session. 9:00 am Rupee recovers: The Indian rupee recouped some yesterday’s losses in early trade Tuesday. The currency has opened at 66.55 a dollar, up 10 paise compared to 66.65 a dollar in previous session. 8:59 am: Market Outlook: Indian markets signals gap up opening on back of moody comments on Indian economy and recover seen in the Asian markets. The positive outlook on the rating reflects Moody’s view that recent and proposed policies will stabilize inflation, improve the regulatory environment, increase infrastructure investment and lower government debt ratios. Tracking the momentum, the index may trade above level of 8000 in trade today, says Mehta Equities. 8.55 am: A lot of analysts are cautioning that if a bounceback comes through today, it may be short-lived and that the short-term trend has broken down. “This remains a sell-on-every-rise markets,” they say. 8.50 am: Here’s some information for traders. “The Nifty has immediate support at 7,752,” says an expert from brokerage firm CLSA. If it breaks, he says the next support lies around 7,350. 8.45 am: With 15 minutes to go for the Indian market’s pre-opening trade to start (and half an hour for actual trading), the Singapore-based SGX Nifty is now up 1.35 percent, or 106 points, to 7,902. For those who may not know, the SGX Nifty reflects futures traded on the Indian Nifty in the Singapore market. 8.40 am: Glenmark Pharma, United Breweries, SpiceJet, Crompton Greaves and IOC will remain in news today. Here’s why . 8.35 am: A short covering is coming through in the very immediate term, says CNBC-TV18’s Anuj Singhal, “but don’t get trapped”. Watch his take . 8.30 am: Despite the brutal fall in Indian markets, most analysts have been positive on the medium term outlook for local shares, as they expect economy and earnings to gradually pick up. They do make it clear that in the short run, stocks will not move along with global trends if an equity rout takes place everywhere else. 8.25 am: The recent developments in global financial markets have at least brought along some bit of good news for investors: the US Federal Reserve, which was likely to hike interest rates for the first time in eight years (at its September meeting) is unlikely to do so now, says legendary PE investor Wilbur Ross. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ross said a lot of markets, such as Japan, are now looking cheap and that it was now a good time to add stocks to portfolio. 8.20 am: The Indian rupee closed at 66.65 per US dollar yesterday, bringing back memories of the brutal 2013 ‘taper tantrum’ that sank it beyond 68. (It must be mentioned that on both occasions, the currency performed better than post peers.) Social media, of course, is abuzz with jokes. But CNBC-TV18’s Banking Editor Latha Venkatesh says that the rupee fall could worsen if Asia’s selloff continues. Watch video here . 8.15 am: The sell-off in Indian equities has been rather brutal in the past few weeks, with the Nifty retracing from nearly 9,000 to about 7,800. Here are 12 stocks that have fared the worst in 2015 . 8.10 am: We’ll also tune in to what the big voices have to see about yesterday’s sell-off and what can be expected ahead. First, Allianz’s chief economic advisor, Mohamed El-Erian, who says the Monday will continue until one of two things happen: emerging markets put in place a policy circuit breaker or prices fall low enough to bring buyers back. “Low enough means a lot lower than here because they’ve been inflated well beyond fundamentals by central bank policies, so in order to bring people back in you’ve got to overshoot the fundamentals on the down side to induce people back in,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box. Read more here . 8.05 am: Some more cues coming in now. Dow futures have now opened up 2 percent, signalling the worst of global equities may be behind for now. In other asset classes, the US dollar is up 0.4 percent. Gold and crude oil are up marginally. Base metals, too, are seeing some bounceback, according to Kitco. 8.00 am: The recovery seems it may show up in Indian shares as well. Singapore’s SGX Nifty, a widely-tracked bogey for Indian shares, is up 2 percent to 7,948. However, it remains to be seen if a positive start to Indian equities, if it does take place, will sustain. 7.50 am: Appears to be some respite for the region’s equity investors: A lot of Asian markets are now recovering. China is now down 3.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei is in the green (up 0.1 percent), South Korea’s KOSPI is up in the green too. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is now up 2.5 percent. 7.45 am: So what exactly is going wrong in China? The country has been undergoing a major slowdown in the past few years, as exports remain muted in the face of weak global growth. But to make matters worse, the country witnessed two major bubbles — in real estate followed by the stock market — which appear to be now bursting. Between mid 2014 and mid 2015, the Chinese stock market had risen 150 percent, and has now given back more than half half of its gains. 7.40 am: Here’s some early bad news: China opened 6.5 percent lower again today but has recouped some losses to now trade 3.9 percent lower. Other Asian markets are, however, trading mixed. 7.30 am: Good morning and welcome to the coverage of latest developments in the global financial markets. After yesterday’s mammoth fall in China (8.5 percent down), all of Asian (India fell 6 percent), European and US markets (Dow Jones sank 3.6 percent) sank. It looks to be another bad day for markets today.