Domestic equity indices are set for a positive opening on Friday, despite mixed global cues. Asian peers were mostly down, whereas US stocks settled mostly higher in the overnight trade. However, Adani Group stocks are likely to remain at focus of traders after wiping out Rs 10 lakh crore from the valuations. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:
Nifty outlook The Nifty witnessed swings in both the directions on Thursday and ultimately posted a minor negative close. Despite multiple attempts, the index couldn’t sustain in the positive territory, said Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
"The hourly chart shows that the 20 HMA acted as a cap on the higher side, whereas the hourly lower Bollinger Band offered support to the index. Thus, 17,650 – 17,450 is the tight range within the overall short term range of 17,350-18,000. The bulls can get some relief if the index crosses 17,650-17,700 area on the higher side," he said.
SGX Nifty signals a positive start Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 41.5 points, or 0.24 per cent up at 17,680.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday.
Asian shares rise in early trade Asian stocks opened on a cautious note on Friday after muted results by some big-tech names and a mixed performance by US stocks. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.36 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.84 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 added 0.38 per cent; New Zealand's DJ was down 0.07 per cent; China's Shanghai fell 0.30 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.52 per cent; and Seoul's Kospi shed 0.09 per cent.
Oil prices inches up Oil prices made modest gains in early trade on Friday but were heading for a second straight week of losses, as the market looked for more signs of a strong recovery in fuel demand in China to offset looming slumps in other major economies. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $82.33 a barrel at 0110 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 18 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $76.06 a barrel.
Dollar climbs over inflation fears The euro and sterling slipped against the dollar on Friday as markets took a dovish cue from policymakers at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, who said inflationary pressures in their economies have become more manageable. The US dollar index rose 0.03 per cent to 101.82 The pound slid 0.15 per cent to a more than two-week low of $1.2206 in early Asia trade, whereas the euro was last 0.16 per cent lower at $1.0893. The yen was last marginally higher at 128.66 per dollar and was headed for a weekly gain of nearly 1 per cent.
US stocks settled mostly higher The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended higher on Thursday and touched roughly five-month highs as a more dovish-than-expected message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted equities and Meta Platforms shares soared on rigorous cost controls. The Dow slipped, dragged down by declines in some big healthcare stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.02 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 34,053.94, the S&P 500 gained 60.55 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 4,179.76 and the Nasdaq Composite added 384.50 points, or 3.25 per cent, to 12,200.82.
Q3 earnings today State Bank of India, ITC, Divis Labs, InterGlobe Aviation, Bank of Baroda, Tata Power Company, Marico, Tube Investments of India, Zydus Lifesciences, One97 Communications, M&M Financial Services, Sumitomo Chemicals India, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Aarti Industries, Emami, Sun TV Networks, Elgi Equipments, Manappuram Finance and KRBL are among the companies that will announce their results for the December 2022 quarter.
Stocks in F&O ban Two Stocks- Ambuja Cements and Adani Ports- have been put under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, February 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 sell shares worth Rs 3,065 crore After a single day of buying, provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs again turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,065.35 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 2,371.36 crore.
Rupee falls 40 paise The rupee fell 40 paise to close below the 82 per US dollar mark on Thursday, weighed down by foreign fund outflows and corporate dollar demand. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.81 against the greenback, and touched an intra-day high of 81.71 and a low of 82.20. It finally settled at 82.20, down 40 paise over its previous close
Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies
Also read: Nasdaq, S&P 500 post strong gains on Fed relief; Meta, Apple, Alphabet surge