Market Live: Nifty reclaims 9100, Sensex higher in opening: Bharti, Yes Bank gain

9:56 am Policybazaar plans IPO: Insurance comparison portal Policybazaar is setting its sights on an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2018. The company also is close to raise a pre-IPO round worth USD 50 million, according to a report in Mint. The company wants to strengthen its balance sheet with the fund raise.

Policybazaar’s plans for a public offer have got a leg up after the company broke even in November 2016. It is hopeful of clocking significant profit growth in FY18.

Policybazaar will end FY17 with revenue of Rs 210 crore and ring in a Rs 50-crore profit over revenue of about Rs 350 crore in FY18, Chief Executive Yashish Dahiya told the paper.

9:33 am FII View: Laurence Balanco of CLSA says the Nifty is pulling back after last week’s break above the September 2016 highs.

Nevertheless, the fact that the daily Relative Strength Index has confirmed the recent high of 9,212 suggests the current pullback is likely to be short lived and followed by further gains.

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9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off last day of the week on mildly positive note, with the Nifty reclaiming 9100 level, backed by banking & financials and FMCG stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 40.77 points at 29,372.93 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 10.20 points to 9,096.50. About 560 shares advanced against 192 declining shares on the BSE.

Bharti Airtel rallied 2 percent in early trade as the company will acquire Tikona Digital Networks’ 4G business for Rs 1,600 crore. Yes Bank was up over a percent after its QIP subscribed over 2.5 times.

The Indian rupee gained marginally in the early trade. It has opened at 65.48 per dollar versus previous close 65.52.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank says, “The USD-INR pair continues to trade in a very tight range around the 65.50/dollar handle, with gains on account of strong portfolio flows getting offset by strong intervention.”

He expects the pair to trade in the 65.30-65.70/dollar range for today.

The dollar hovered near a four-month low against the Japanese yen ahead of a vote on republican healthcare plans which is seen as a litmus test for President Trump’s ability to deliver on promises.
Asian markets were mixed, shrugging off US equities lower close as key health care vote in the US was delayed and President Donald Trump called on legislators for an up-or-down decision today.