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Informist, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Mkts to move in range; STT hike likely to dampen FPI sentiment

 

MUMBAI--0841 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to be range-bound Monday after a sharp fall in the special trading session on Sunday. The fall came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the securities transaction tax on futures and options trading in her Union Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). Analysts believe this hike may limit foreign investor participation in the domestic market and hit trading volumes for capital market companies. Shares of public sector defence and transport companies may also see weakness as the capital outlay for these were lower than expected.

 

The Gift Nifty contract suggests a subdued opening for the Nifty 50 index. At 0840 IST, the GIFT Nifty's February contract was at 24824.50 points, marginally lower than the Nifty 50's close of 24825.45 points on Sunday. The BSE Sensex closed at 80722.94 points, down over 1500 points or nearly 2%. The Nifty 50 is seen facing immediate resistance at 25000 points and finding support at 24500 points Monday, according to technical analysts. 

 

Metal stocks will also be in focus after a slump in prices of precious metals over the last few days. A selloff in gold and silver has led to a rout in exchange-traded funds of these metals and stocks of base metal, and precious metal companies. Some sectors such as information technology and healthcare were also impacted directly by Budget announcements. Stocks of these companies will be in focus after the finance minister said she plans to enhance and develop healthcare facilities in India. 

 

On Friday, US markets closed lower after US President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next US Fed chair. Warsh has been a long-standing supporter of higher interest rates, but has recently criticised the high interest rate regime of the current US Fed, according to media sources. Equity markets in Asia were mixed in early trade Monday as investors assessed private data on China's factory activity in January, while gold extended losses, CNBC reported.  (Eshitva Prakash)

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Equity Alert: Asian indices mixed; mkts asses Warsh nomination, China data

 

MUMBAI--0758 IST--Asian equity indices were mixed on Monday. This comes as investors in the region await private data from China and assess the possibility of interest rate cuts in the US following US President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the replacement for current US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Japanese indexes were higher as the country prepares for snap elections after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house. 

 

Asian indices were mixed as the region awaits data on China's factory activity in January, CNBC reported. On Friday, US stock indices ended lower despite investors approving the nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the country's central bank. Oil prices fell almost 3% as Trump said over the weekend that Iran was "seriously talking" with the US administration, which could reduce the chances of a possible US strike on the West Asian country, Reuters reported.

 

Japan's Nikkei as well as Topix First Section indices were higher. This comes as opinion polls indicate that Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to secure more than 233 of the 465 seats needed for a majority. "A huge LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) win would further strengthen Takaichi's grip on power. It won't be surprising for markets to see a higher chance of Takaichi pursuing her flagship proactive fiscal policies, including a consumption tax cut," Keisuke Tsuruta, senior bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities was reported as saying.

 

Takaichi has been talking up the advantages of a weaker yen, saying "People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it's a major opportunity," according to Reuters. "Whether it's selling food or automobiles, even though there were US tariffs, the weaker yen has served as a buffer. That has helped us tremendously," Takaichi added. However, she went on to soften her stance, claiming she did not favour a specific direction for the currency. "My intention was solely to state that we aim to build an economic structure that is resilient to exchange-rate fluctuation, and not, as some reports have suggested, to emphasise the benefits of a weak yen," she said.     

 

The Korean index opened lower and has fallen below the 5100 point benchmark for the first time since it crossed it on Jan. 28. Shares of Samsung were over 2% lower and those of SK Hynix were down over 4%. The country's stock market is expected to have been influenced by expectations that interest rate cuts in the US will be delayed following Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh, who is seen taking a 'hawkish' stance, an article from the Chosun said. During early trading, foreign investors were seen net selling shares worth 549.20 billion Korean won or $376.56 million, while domestic individual investors net bought 476.6 billion Korean won or $326.83 million worth of shares and institutional investors bought shares worth 62.10 billion or $42.59 million. 

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0752 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4711.35	0.11
Hang Seng Index	27046.47	(-)1.24
KOSPI	5094.36	(-)2.49
Nikkei 225 Day	53464.53	0.27
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3581.62	0.43
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4905.25	0.00
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8784.90	(-)0.95
IDX Composite	8048.00	(-)0.38

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 91.98

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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