Domestic stock indices are likely to open on a muted note on Thursday, tracking weak global cues. Asian peers were trading mostly lower after an overnight fall in US stocks. Concerns over global slowdown , meanwhile, hit crude oil prices. All eyes would be on quarterly earnings of Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and a dozen other companies that are scheduled for later in the day. Here’s what you should know before the opening bell:
Nifty outlook
Nifty has broken out strongly from a falling wedge pattern, which is a bullish reversal pattern. The bulls regained control and surpassed the 18,100 barriers, demonstrating strong momentum, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
“The index remains in a buy-on-dip mode with support at 17,900, where fresh put writing has been witnessed. The index’s next immediate resistance stands at 18,200, and a breach will see sharp short-term movement toward 18,500-18,600 levels,” he said.
SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 83.5 points, or 0.46 per cent, down at 18,138.50, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Thursday.
Asian shares mostly lower
Asian shares were trading mostly lower on Thursday following the concerns over economic growth dented the sentiments. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan tanked 0.56 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei tanked 0.99 per cent; New Zealand’s DJ was down 0.27 per cent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.70 per cent; China’s Shanghai declined 0.21 per cent. Meanwhile, Korea’s Kospi added 0.12 per cent.
Oil prices extend fall
Oil prices fell on Thursday after industry data showed a large unexpected increase in US crude stocks for a second week, heightening concerns of a drop in fuel demand. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined by 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $78.62 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell 73 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $84.25 a barrel.
Dollar rises on safe haven bids
The dollar rose broadly on Thursday as growth concerns about the US economy drove demand for the safe-haven greenback, while the yen renewed its ascent as investors doubled down on bets that the Bank of Japan would shift away from its yield curve control policy. The US dollar index rose 0.09 per cent to 102.42. Sterling fell 0.17 per cent to $1.2327, whereas Euro shed 0.02 per cent to stand at $1.0792. The greenback failed to eke out a gain against the Japanese yen and was last 0.4 per cent lower at 128.42 yen.
US stocks settle sharply lower
Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday, registering their biggest daily drops in more than a month, after weak economic data fueled recession worries while hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials soured investor moods further. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 613.89 points, or 1.81 per cent, to 33,296.96, the S&P 500 tumbled 62.11 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 3,928.86 and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 138.10 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 10,957.01.
Q3 earnings today
Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Hindustan Zinc, Havells India, AU Small Finance Bank, Polycab India, Mphasis, L&T Technology Services, Hatsun Agro Products, 360 One Wam, ICICI Securities, IndiaMart Intermesh, Happiest Minds Technologies and PVR are among the companies that will announce their results for the December 2022 quarter.
Stocks in F&O ban
Four stocks- Delta Corp, L&T Finance Holdings, Manappuram Finance and GNFC- have been put under F&O ban for Thursday, January 19 by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Derivative contracts in a security are banned when the crosses 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). No new positions can be created in the derivative contracts of said security. This prohibition is lifted when the open interest in the stock drops below 80 per cent of the MWPL across exchanges.
FPIs sell shares worth Rs 319 crore
After a day’s buying, provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 319.23 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 1,225.96 crore.
Rupee rose 28 paise against dollar
Snapping a three-day declining streak, the rupee rebounded 28 paise to close at 81.41 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a weak greenback overseas and a firm trend in domestic equities. However, rising crude oil prices capped the gains, traders said.
Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies
Also read: HUL, Asian Paints, Mphasis, PVR to announce Q3 results; HCL Tech shares to go ex-dividend
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