Trump leads US Presidential race; D-St stares at massive gap down

NEW DELHI: The domestic equity indices are likely to open on a negative note on Wednesday, as investors await the outcome of the US presidential election, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has left the market agog.

PM fights black money: In a 40-minute address, the Prime Minister on Tuesday told the nation that currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations will not be legal tender from midnight and these will be "just worthless pieces of paper."

“It is a bold and transparent move by the government. Market participants are no longer talking about Trump and Hillary while all eyes are fixed on the biggest move taken by the government to curb black money,” Ajay Bodke, CEO & Chief Portfolio Manager - PMS, Prabhudas Lilladher, told ETMarkets.com.

Chandan Taparia, derivatives analyst, equity research, Anand Rathi Financial Services, said, “It is a bold decision to curb black money and is going to strengthen the rupee going forward. We are at the early stage of a cashless economy and stock markets always cheer such bold policy moves,” he said.

Trump takes the charge: Fresh data suggested that Donald Trump was leading in 129 electoral votes against Clinton’s 97. Trump's Republican party needs 270 seats to win the election.

Meanwhile, VoteCastr, a provider of real-time election information through news outlets, including Slate, showed Clinton had gained lead in Florida, which is believed to be a must-win state for Trump.
Clinton had received a total of 49.59 votes so far against Trump’s 46.44 lakh votes, readings checked at 6.18 am IST showed. According to an early reading from the Reuters/Ipsos national Election Day poll, nearly 15 per cent of US voters, who cast ballots on Tuesday said it was their first-time voting in a presidential election, up from 9 per cent of voters who said so in 2012.

Wall Street gained for second session: The Dow Jones industrial average index advanced 0.4 per cent to close at 18,332 in overnight trade. The S&P500 index rose 0.38 per cent to 2,139.53. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.53 per cent to settle at 5,193.49 points.
192 companies to announce earnings: A total of 192 companies would announce September quarter results on Wednesday. The list includes PowerGrid, Lupin, Bosch, Apollo Tyres, OBC, UCO Bank, The Ramco Cements, Indian Bank and JK Tyre, among others.
As many as 1,096 BSE-listed companies will announce results during the week. The list included L&T, M&M, Godrej Properties and Blue Star, among others.

Cues from Singapore negative: At 7.45 am, Nifty50 futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange were trading 175 points lower at 8,558, indicating a gap down opening for the domestic market.

“We recommend traders/investors not to jump in and buy gap up opening, if any, but advise them to wait for a close above 8,600 levels before initiating longs,” said Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist - Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in.
Nifty50 made Doji pattern: As per theory, ‘Doji’ chart patterns are commonly seen in periods of consolidation and can help analysts identify potential price breakouts or even a breakdown. Although 'Doji' is a neutral chart pattern and often signals indecisiveness among bulls as well as bears, but it could be a precursor to the corrective or consolidation phase for next couple of trading sessions unless Nifty50 decisively closes above 8,600-8,650 levels, suggest experts.

Earnings so far: Data showed 1,130 BSE-listed firms have reported double-digit growth in profit for September quarter. They have reported 10.04 per cent rise in year-on-year (YoY) profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 81,942 crore for the second quarter, compared with Rs 74,467 crore reported for the same quarter last year. Sales grew 7.19 per cent YoY to Rs 7,81,692 crore.

Asian markets stay mixed: The Chinese CSI300 fell 0.27 per cent to 3,362.03 on Wednesday morning. Japan’s equity benchmark Nikkei rose 0.19 per cent to 17,204. Other Asian indices, including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (down 1.66 per cent) and South Korea’s Kospi (down 0.12 per cent), were trading lower.