ETMarkets Morning Podcast: NSE not spending enough on tech

>> All eyes on India’s GDP data for Q3 today
>> Should you be fearful or greedy now? Warren Buffett’s annual letter may hold clue
>> F&O rollovers hint at sustained rally in March
AND
>> NSE tech spending hasn’t kept up with rising volumes

Hi there. Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Sandeep Singh.

Let’s start with a quick glance on the state of the markets.

Dalal Street looked set for a gap-down opening, after a sharp rise in US 10-year bond yields triggered a selloff on Wall Street overnight. SGX Nifty futures trading on Singapore Exchange suggested a gap-down start for Indian markets. Asian stocks moved sharply lower, with Australian markets falling 2 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbling 2.6 per cent.

Well, that doesn’t look too good for Dalal Street.

Meanwhile, RailTel’s market debut will be keenly watched by Street.

Oil prices held near 13-month highs… MCX gold futures slipped 0.3 per cent to Rs 46,371 per 10 gm on Thursday. Globally, gold was down 1.3% at $1,775 per ounce.

That said, here’s what else is making news.

All eyes will be on India’s upcoming GDP numbers for the December quarter, due in the evening. The numbers come amid rising hope that the economy may have slowly turned the corner after having shrunk sharply during the past two quarters. In view of falling Covid caseload and rising public spending, analysts expect GDP to expand in Q3.

While 2020 raged, Warren Buffett mostly held his tongue.

He stayed quiet through a heated presidential election, a racial reckoning that sparked nationwide protests and an exuberance for stocks that’s gripped millions of Americans. Not to mention a global pandemic.

Now, Mr Buffett has a chance to break his silence with the release of his annual letter this Saturday.

It’s indeed time to find out what Mr Buffett thinks.

The north-bound momentum in the stock market could continue in the coming weeks if the build-up in the March futures and options series is to go by.

The rollover in Nifty futures to the March series was 78%, in line with three-month averages.

India’s stock market has grown multifold in the past five years, but technology spends at NSE, the country’s largest stock exchange, have remained stagnant. This when several stock bourses overseas have doubled their technology spending in the past five years.

Did you know NSE’s volumes in the cash segment have risen 205% in the past five years?

NOW Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning…

Marquee global investors and bond funds, including Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and BlackRock are believed to have participated in Bharti Airtel’s $1.25 billion overseas fundraise.

DHFL has said it has received no objection from RBI and has filed an application with NCLT for submission of the resolution plan of Piramal Capital & Housing Finance.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources raised about $1.2 billion via sale of overseas bonds, for which it received bids up to $3 billion.

India Ratings and Research has revised its outlook on Sunteck Realty to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ while affirming its long-term issuer rating at ‘IND AA-‘.

HCL Technologies will raise $500 million in an overseas bond sale, the company said in a BSE notification Thursday citing its board approval.

Do also check out over two dozen stock recommendations for today’s trade from top analysts on ETMarkets.com.

That’s it for now. Stay put with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!