GIFT Nifty up 206 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement & more

Domestic stock indices are set to open with big gains on Thursday amid hopes of a few rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in 2024. Asian stocks rallied, tracking Wall Street stocks, on the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish signals post the FOMC policy outcome overnight. Back home, the IPO of Inox India will open for bidding today. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities said that the Nifty50 formed a small candle with identical open and close with long lower shadow. Technically, this pattern indicates a formation of Doji-type candle patterns. Normally, such Doji formations post weaknesses call for reversal on the upside, post confirmation.

"Nifty sustained the immediate support of 20,850 levels after violating it intraday. The upside recovery of Wednesday from the immediate supports signal chances of further upside for the Nifty in the short term. There is a higher possibility of Nifty moving again into all-time highs of 21,040 levels in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 20,770," he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
Rajesh Bhoasle, Technical Analyst at AngelOne said that there was a lack of direction on Nifty Bank from a technical perspective. Upon examining the daily chart, prices are observed to be trading within a defined range, indicating a current correction in terms of time-wise after the remarkable run over the past couple of weeks.

"The overall sentiment remains positive, with immediate support identified around 46,800-46,500. The 46,500-46,300 zone functions as a strong support area, aligning with previous breakout levels. Any decline into this zone should be considered a buying opportunity from a positional standpoint," Bhoasle said.

GIFT Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 206 points, or 0.98 per cent, higher at 21231, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks surge in early trade
Asian markets surged sharply on Thursday, fueled by the dovish tilt from the Federal Reserve's final policy meeting of the year which lifted Wall Street - the Dow surged to a fresh all-time high - and slammed Treasury yields and the dollar. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.75 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.36 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 surged 1.57 per cent; New Zealand's DJ gained 0.92 per cent; China's Shanghai added 0.18 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.30 per cent; South Korea's rallied 1.26 per cent.

Oil prices gain on  US storage withdrawal

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session following a bigger-than-expected weekly withdrawal from US crude storage and signaling from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it would start lowering borrowing costs in 2024. Brent futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $74.72 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 48 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $69.95.

Dollar drops on dovish Fed commentary
The dollar was under pressure on Thursday after the Federal Reserve's latest economic projections indicated that the interest-rate hike cycle has come to an end and lower borrowing costs are coming in 2024. The US dollar index was last 102.87. The euro was mostly flat at $1.0882 after surging on Wednesday. Sterling was last trading at $1.2623. Elsewhere, the yen sat significantly higher around 142.80 yen per dollar.

Wall Street stocks post big gains
The Dow Jones industrial average hit its first record closing high since January 2022 and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied more than 1 per cent each on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled that its interest rate-hiking policy is at an end and that it sees lower borrowing costs in 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 512.3 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 37,090.24, the S&P 500 gained 63.39 points, or 1.37 per cent, to 4,707.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 200.57 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 14,733.96.

Inox India IPO to open today
The Rs 1,459.32 crore-initial public offering (IPO) of Inox India (InoxCVA) will open for bidding on Thursday, December 14. The cryogenic tank maker will be selling its shares in the price band of Rs 627-660 apiece with a lot size of 22 equity shares. The three-day bidding for the offer shall conclude on Monday, December 18.

Stocks in F&O ban list
Seven stocks have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, December 14. Hindustan Copper, Balrampur Chini Mills, National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Indiabulls Housing Finance, India Cements, and Delta Corp continue to remain under the ban. Companies where derivative contracts cross 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit are put under ban in the F&O segment.

FPIs buy shares worth Rs 4,711 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs were net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of 4,710.86 crore on Wednesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 958.49 crore.

Rupee falls 3 paise against dollar
The rupee depreciated 3 paise to revisit all-time closing low of 83.40 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid a strong American currency overseas. Forex traders said a steep fall in crude oil prices from USD 76 per barrel to the below USD 73 level provided support, but a muted trend in equity markets triggered negative bias against the local unit.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

Also read: Vedanta parent looks to rejig $3.8 billion bond repayments; stock in focus 

Also read: Stock recommendations by market analysts for December 14, 2023: Asian Paints, Bata India and Indian Energy Exchange