Domestic stocks are likely to open sharply higher on Friday, thanks to a strong momentum in global markets. US Stocks settled sharply higher overnight. Asian markets also witnessed a strong opening, thanks to a lesser hawkish commentary from the US Fed and easing of US bond yields. Back home, Adani Group stocks may stay in focus after investments by GQG Partners. Here’s what you should know before the opening bell:
Nifty outlook
Nifty on Thursday formed a long bearish candle on the daily chart that engulfed the up move of the preceding session. Technically, the pattern indicates a lack of strength in the recent upside bounce. The weakness is likely to continue in the short term, said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
“The underlying trend of the Nifty continues to be weak. One may expect it to retest the recent swing low of 17,250 levels in the short term. Further weakness below this support could open the next lower levels of 17,000. Any upside bounce from here could find strong resistance around 17470 levels,” he said.
SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 106 points, or 0.61 per cent, higher at 17,461, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday.
Asian shares open higher
Asian stocks rallied sharply on Friday, in line with an overnight jump in US stocks, following a dovish commentary by a US policymaker. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.60 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.46 per cent; Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.33 per cent; New Zealand’s DJ tanked 0.42 per cent; China’s Shanghai rose 0.037 per cent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 0.71 per cent. and Seoul’s Kospi remained shut.
Oil prices fall in early trade
Oil prices slipped in early trade on Friday, but were on track to post gains of nearly 2 per cent for the week, as a rebound in China’s factory activity offset growing concerns about rising US crude stocks and potential rate hikes in Europe. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $84.36 a barrel at 0147 GMT. US. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 41 cents, or 0.5per cent, at $77.75 a barrel.
Dollar index below 105 level
The US dollar eased back from a two-and-a-half-month high versus the yen on Friday and weakened toward its first weekly loss since January against major peers as traders tried to gauge the path for Federal Reserve policy. The dollar index eased 0.11 per cent to 104.85. The dollar eased 0.15 per cent to 136.575 yen. The euro rose 0.08 per cent to $1.0606, after climbing off a nearly two-month low of $1.0533 at the start of the week.
Wall Street stocks settle higher
US stocks rallied on Thursday, as Treasury yields pulled back from earlier highs following comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic about his favored path of interest rate hikes for the central bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 341.73 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 33,003.57, the S&P 500 gained 29.96 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 3,981.35 and the Nasdaq Composite added 83.50 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 11,462.98.
Stocks in F&O ban
No stocks have been put under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, March 3. 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.
FPIs buy shares worth Rs 12,770 crore
After some selling, provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 12,770.81 on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 2,128.80 crore.
Rupee falls 11 paise against dollar
The rupee depreciated by 11 paise to close at 82.60 against the US currency on Thursday as a stronger dollar in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments. Sustained foreign fund outflows further weighed on the local unit, according to forex traders.
Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies
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