After four days of back-to-back fall, domestic stocks may open marginally higher on Monday, ahead of the F&O expiry later this week. Key markets globally including the US, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, among others, are shut for the day on account of Boxing Day or St Stephen’s Day. Select markets in Asia, where trading was underway, showed a mixed trend, thanks to concerns over rising Covid cases globally. Here’s what you should know before the Opening Bell:
Nifty outlook
Nifty selloff intensified on Friday after the 50-pack index breached its crucial support of 18,000 level and with a gap-down opening. The 50-pack index tested sub-17,800 levels during the session and ended up forming large bearish candles on daily and weekly charts. The bears are in complete control, said analysts, who said Nifty can drag towards 17,500 level in coming days.
SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 18 points, or 0.10 per cent, higher at 17,882, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Monday.
Key global markets shut today
Markets across the US, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand are closed for the day on account of Christmas or Boxing Day or St Stephen’s Day. China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.30 per cent while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.30 per cent.
US stocks settle higher
Wall Street shuffled to a modestly higher close on Friday and Treasury yields advanced as investors digested a deluge of economic data ahead of the Christmas holiday long weekend, capping a week fraught with worries over the Fed’s restrictive monetary policy and related recession fears. Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 176.44 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 33,203.93 the S&P500 index gained 22.43 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 3,844.82 and the Nasdaq Composite index added 21.74 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 10,497.86.
Stocks in F&O ban
Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance are banned in the F&O segment today. Derivative contracts in a security are banned when it 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.
DIIs buy shares worth Rs 3,399 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs were net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 706.84 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 3,398.98 crore.
Rupee falls 3 paise against dollar
The rupee dipped 3 paise to close at 82.82 against the US dollar on Friday due to firm crude oil prices and steep losses in domestic stocks amid growing concerns about interest rate hikes. A weak greenback in the global markets restricted the local unit’s losses, forex dealers said.
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