GIFT Nifty down 3 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, Q1 results & more

Domestic equity markets are likely to open flat on Thursday despite the positive global cues from the global markets. Asian stocks were mostly up in the early trade, while US stocks ticked mostly higher in the overnight trade. Back home, the demerger of Jio Financial Services from Reliance Industries will guide the market other than Q1 earnings of heavyweights like Infosys and Hindustan Unilever. Here's what you should know before the opening:

Nifty outlook
Indian equities saw another day of gains with the headline index holding strong amidst volatile trading. The market trend remains positive as the index stays above the moving average. Support is found at 19,700, while resistance is expected between 18,900 and 20,000 levels, said Rupak De, Senior Technical analyst at LKP Securities.

GIFT Nifty signals a muted start
Nifty futures on the Nifty International Exchange traded 3 points, or 0.02 per cent, lower at 19,838, hinting at a flattish start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks open mostly up
Asian shares were open mostly higher on Thursday ahead of China's interest rate meeting outcome and the key economic data from the major hubs of the regions. The eased down crude also supported positive sentiments. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.53 per cent. Japan's Nikkei tanked 0.89 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.25 per cent; New Zealand's DJ added 0.12 per cent; China's Shanghai shed 0.03 per cent up; Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.67 per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.05 per cent.

Oil prices open lower
Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Thursday, extending the previous session's losses, as the dollar strengthened and on profit-taking after U.S. crude oil stocks fell less than expected. Brent futures dipped 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $79.32 a barrel by 0001 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 15 cents to $75.20 a barrel.

US dollar gains ground
Sterling was struggling to recover from a sharp fall on Thursday following UK inflation data that undershot market expectations, while the dollar regained its footing after a steep decline last week that analysts said was overblown. The US dollar index steadied above 100 and last stood at 100.18. The Japanese yen rose 0.1 per cent to 139.56 per dollar. The British pound was last 0.02 per cent lower at $1.2936, while the euro rose 0.11 per cent to $1.1213.

US stocks settled higher
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index rose modestly on Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow registering its eighth straight day of gains as investors gauged the latest round of corporate earnings, but a decline in Microsoft held the Nasdaq near the unchanged mark. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 109.28 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 35,061.21, the S&P 500 gained 10.74 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 4,565.72 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.38 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 14,358.02.

Q1 results today
Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Havells India, United Spirits, Union Bank of India, Mphasis, Persistent Systems, Dalmia Bharat, Coforge, ICICI Securities, 360 One Wam, IndiaMart InterMesh, Tanla Platforms, Zensar Technologies, CSB Bank, South Indian Bank, Kirloskar Pneunatic Company, DB Corp, HMT, Shalby, Nelco and Quick Heal Technologies are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the June 2023 quarter during the day.

Stocks in F&O ban
Six stocks - L&T Finance Holdings, Polycab India, Delta Corp, Manappuram Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance and RBL Bank- have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, July 20. 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 1,165 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,165.47 crore on Wednesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 2,134.54 crore.

Rupee slips 4 paise against US dollar
The rupee depreciated by 4 paise to close at 82.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by the rebound in the American currency in global markets and firm crude oil prices. Traders said domestic equity benchmarks scaling all-time high levels and sustained foreign fund inflows boosted investor sentiments and restricted the depreciating bias.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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