GIFT Nifty down 13 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, & more

Domestic benchmark indices are likely to open flat, or slightly lower on Tuesday, tracking the muted signals from the global peers. Asian stocks were mostly down in the early trade, while US stocks were shut on Monday on account of the new year. The US dollar was steady, while crude oil price inched up in the early Asian trade. Back home, traders will be looking at the corporate updates and Q3 earnings in the coming days. Here's what all you know to know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
A small body of positive candles was formed on the daily chart of Nifty with upper and lower shadows. Technically, this pattern indicates the formation of a high wave type candle pattern and this indicates high volatility in the market at the high. Nifty is currently forming a new higher top of the sequence, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

"The near-term uptrend status of Nifty remains intact. However, the market has started to exhibit high volatility around the new highs, which signal chances of another round of downward correction from the highs. A decisive move above 21,850 levels is expected to nullify the present bearish effect and that could open more upside for the near term. Immediate support is placed at 21,550 levels" he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
Bank Nifty consolidated around the 48,300 levels for nearly three hours before breaking out, only to fall towards the end and close 58 points lower at 48,234, said  Ashwin Ramani, Derivatives & Technical Analyst, SAMCO Securities.

"The put writers (bulls) created massive pressure on the call writers (bears) at 48,300 Strike in Bank Nifty, leading to an Intraday rise in the Index. The maximum call open interest (resistance) is placed at 48,500 Strike in Bank Nifty and the option activity at 48,500 Strike will provide cues about Bank Nifty’s future direction," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a flat start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 13 points, or 0.06 per cent, lower at 21,861, hinting at a flattish start for the domestic market on Tuesday.

Asian stocks mostly drop in early trade
Asian shares were mostly on backfoot on Tuesday, marking their first session of the new year, following the cuts in the US stocks on Friday as euphoria over rate cuts by the US Fed faded away. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.47 per cent. Australia's ASX 200 gained 0.26 per cent; New Zealand's DJ added 0.09 per cent; China's Shanghai shed 0.05 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 1.03 per cent; South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.18 per cent.

Oil prices rebound amid Middle-East conflict
Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday, recovering slightly from steep losses in 2023 as US forces struck back against the Iran-backed Houthi group in the Red Sea, with the conflict showing little signs of de-escalation. Brent oil futures jumped 1.2 per cent to $77.94 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.1 per cent to $72.60 a barrel by 01:22 GMT.

The US dollar starts 2024 on a steady note
The dollar was steady on the first trading day of the year as traders weighed the prospect of steep interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024 and looked to economic data this week for clues on the central bank's next moves. The dollar index was last at 101.43, up 0.049 per cent on Tuesday. The euro was down 0.07 per cent to $1.1036 and the Sterling was last at $1.2726, up 0.02 per cent on the day. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen weakened 0.24 per cent to 141.20 per dollar to start the year.

Wall Street shares were shut on Monday
US Stock markets observed a public holiday on Monday on the account of new year. Prior to this, US stocks closed modestly lower on Friday, the last trading day of 2023, capping a robust year-end rally as investors eyed easier monetary policy in the year ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.56 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 37,689.54, the S&P 500 lost 13.52 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 4,769.83 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 83.78 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 15,011.35.

Stocks in F&O ban
Two stocks have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Tuesday, January 2, 2024. New inclusion- Balrampur Chini Mills- will join the retained Hindustan Copper in the ban list. Companies where derivative contracts cross 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit are put under ban in the F&O segment.

FPIs sell shares worth Rs 856 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net seller of domestic stocks to the tune of 855.80 crore on Monday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 410.56  crore.

Rupee falls 6 paise against US dollar
The rupee started the new year on a weak note, depreciating by 6 paise to 83.22 against the US dollar amid a muted trend in domestic equities and dollar demand from importers. Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range in the absence of global cues. Global crude oil markets were closed for New Year Day holiday.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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