Indian markets may open marginally lower; GDP data to remain in focus

Markets will also keep an eye out for gross domestic product data for the June quarter. At 8 am, SGX Nifty was trading at 16,915.50 points, down 0.21% from its previous close.

Most Asian stocks dipped Tuesday as traders assessed weaker economic activity in China and the latest escalation in Beijing’s crackdown on private industries.

Equities slipped in Japan and Hong Kong and were steady in China, where the latest purchasing managers’ indexes showed the economy took a knock amid an outbreak of the delta virus variant. U.S. contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 hit a record and the Nasdaq 100 climbed.

Tata Power Co and Adani Power Ltd will be in focus amid reports that both firms plan to sell power on exchange for one month.

The GDP data will show the impact of state-level lockdowns to stem the resurgence in covid infections.

Bloomberg estimated GDP expanded 18.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 from a year earlier, reflecting the low base of comparison when nationwide lockdowns were in place in 2020.

However, on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, it estimated that the economy may have contracted by 12%.

Investors’ attention will turn to an Opec meeting due on Wednesday to discuss a further output boost.

“Rising Delta variant cases and poor monsoon does is a concern to the market. From the long term perspective, the overall trend of the market remains positive led by the opening up of the economy, improving economic data points and pickup in vaccinations. Hence, investors can take advantage of the current volatility and build their positions from the medium to long term perspective” said Motilal Oswal in a report

(Bloomberg contributed to this story)