Gains in the global markets are likely to push Dalal Street higher in the mid-week session today. Asian stocks rallied sharply in early trade, whereas US stocks settled with gains overnight. Traders across the globe expect the worst is over after the collapse of SVB and other lenders. US inflation numbers were on target and the rate of aggressive rate hikes have eased, boosting morale. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:Nifty outlook
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, "Market bears continued to be in control as the Nifty slipped further, registering its fourth straight day of decline. On the lower end, the index neared the lower band of the falling channel."
"For the last four days, Nifty has been pricing in the US banking crisis and an impending rate hike of 25-50 basis points. Going forward, 16,950 will likely act as crucial support for the index. Only a breakdown below 16,950 may trigger further correction. On the higher end, resistance is visible at 17,150-17,200," he said.SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 84 points, or 0.49 per cent up at 17,195.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday.Asian shares sharply higher
Asia's share markets opened sharply higher on Wednesday amid investors' hopes that the worst of global fallout from the US banking sector is done and US inflation numbers on spot-on. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.50 per cent. Japan's Nikkei added 0.30 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 jumped 0.38 per cent; New Zealand's DJ rose 0.39 per cent; China's Shanghai gained 0.57 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.51 per cent. and Seoul's Kospi surged 1.82 per cent.Oil prices rebound
Oil prices rose in early Asia trade on Wednesday, recovering from the previous day's plunge, as a stronger OPEC outlook on China's demand helped offset bearish global investor sentiment in the wake of the recent US bank failures. Brent crude futures climbed 62 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $78.07 a barrel by 0058 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 70 cents, or 1 per cent, to $72.03 a barrel.
Dollar finds some footing
The dollar found support in Asia on Wednesday as investors dialled back expectations of US rate cuts as fear of a banking crisis ebbed and another stubbornly high inflation print landed. The dollar selling of the past two sessions had abated and the greenback rose about 0.2 per cent on both the euro and yen. That carried it to 132.52 yen and $1.0729 against the common currency. Sterling steadied at $1.2149.Wall Street settled in green US stocks bounced back on Tuesday as largely on-target inflation data and easing jitters over contagion in the banking sector cooled expectations regarding the size of the rate hike at the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 336.26 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 32,155.4, the S&P 500 gained 64.8 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 3,920.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 239.31 points, or 2.14 per cent, to 11,428.15.Stocks in F&O ban Two stocks- Indiabulls Housing Finance and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC)- have been retained under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, March 15. 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 sell shares worth Rs 3,087 cr Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,086.96 crore on Tuesday. Similarly, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 2,121.94 crore. Rupee fell 14 paise lower The rupee declined by 14 paise to 82.37 against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by a strong greenback in global markets and persistent foreign fund outflows amid the SVB collapse. Besides, heavy selling pressure in the domestic equity market also hit the local currency, forex traders said. Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies
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