GIFT Nifty down 18 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, Q3 results, dollar movement, & more

Domestic stock indices are set to kick off the week on a muted note, tracking weak cues from the Asian markets. US markets will be shut on Monday on account of Martin Luther King Day. The day would see Jio Financial Services reporting its quarterly numbers. The IPO of Medi Assist Healthcare Services will also open for bidding today. Here's what all you know to know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty50 formed a long bull candle on the daily chart, which indicates a sharp upside breakout of a downward sloping trend line hurdle at 21,750, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities "The positive chart pattern like higher top-bottom is intact and the recent swing low of 21,448 could be considered as a new higher bottom of the sequence."

"Nifty formed a reasonable bull candle on the weekly chart, with a long lower shadow. The bearish Doji implication of the previous week was nullified this past week, as Nifty closed above the high of 21,834 level. The next upside levels to be watched is 22,200. The immediate support is at 21,750," he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
The Nifty Bank index displayed strength by overcoming the initial hurdle at 47,500, signaling potential upward movement towards the next resistance level at 48,000, said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.

"A decisive breach of 48,000 is crucial, as it could trigger substantial short covering, propelling the index towards the 50,000 mark. The lower support is evident at 47,000, a level marked by significant put writing," he added.

GIFT Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 17.50 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 22,026, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Monday.

Asian shares open lower
Asian shares got off to a sluggish start on Monday ahead of a week packed with geopolitical risk, Chinese economic data and earnings reports from major US banks. A holiday in the United States made for thin trading. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.24 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.52 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 fell 0.05 per cent; New Zealand's DJ tanked 0.71 per cent; China's Shanghai shed 0.37 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.52 per cent; South Korea's KOSPI eased 0.02 per cent.

Oil prices eases a bit
Oil prices have got some lift from disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, though worries about demand this year have limited the rally. Brent eased 13 cents to $78.16 a barrel, while US crude fell 11 cents to $72.57 per barrel.

Dollar falls on rate cut hopes
The dollar ebbed on Monday on renewed expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in March, while the Chinese yuan struggled near a one-month low ahead of a slew of economic data this week. The euro hovered near the $1.10 mark in early Asia trade. Sterling stood near its two-week peak hit last week and last bought $1.2732, while the dollar index was flat at 102.50, having drifted largely sideways over the past couple of sessions. In Asia, the yen remained under pressure at 145.04 per dollar. The offshore yuan languished near a one-month low and was last at 7.1861 per dollar.

US shares settle mixed
US stocks barely changed on Friday, after wavering between modest gains and losses, as mixed bank earnings offset cooler-than-expected inflation news that buoyed hopes for interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118.04 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 37,592.98. The S&P 500 gained 3.59 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 4,783.83 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.58 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 14,972.76.

Medi Assist Healthcare IPO opens today
The Rs 1,171.58 crore initial public offering (IPO) of Medi Assist Healthcare Services, a health-tech and insurance-tech company, will open for subscription on Monday, January 15. The company is offering its shares in the range of Rs 397-418 apiece with a lot size of 35 shares and its multiples thereafter. The three-day bidding for the issue will conclude on Wednesday, January 17.

Q3 results today
Jio Financial Services, Angel One, Jai Balaji Industries, PCBL, Safari Industries (India), Choice International, Kesoram Industries, Fedbank Financial Services, Brightcom Group, FIEM Industries, Satin Creditcare Network, Manorma Industries, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure and Nelco are among the companies that will announced their results for the December 2023 quarter today.

Stocks in F&O ban
A total of 15 stocks have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, January 12. The new addition namely- Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, and Metropolis Healthcare - will join the existing retentions including Bandhan Bank, Hindustan Copper, Indus Towers, Piramal Enterprises (PEL), Delta Corp, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Delta Corp, Polycab India, Escorts Kubota, India Cements, National Aluminium Company (Nalco), PVR Inox, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL). 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 340 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 340.05 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 2,911.19 crore. Overseas investors pumped in Rs 3,864 crore in the local equities in January 2024 so far.

Rupee rises 6 paise against dollar
The rupee strengthened for the eighth consecutive session to settle with a gain of 6 paise to 82.95 against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by a rally in domestic equity markets. Rising crude oil prices in the international market and a strong greenback overseas restricted the gain in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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