SGX Nifty down 36 points: Asian markets, crude oil movement, US stocks, Q4 earnings & more

After an extended weekend, domestic stock indices are likely to open lower on Tuesday. Asian stocks were trading mixed while US markets settled with mild losses overnight. Back home, Q4 earnings will guide the market sentiment. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty is moving towards its crucial level of 18,100, which coincides with the 61.82 per cent fibonacci retracement level of the fall from 18,888-16,828. The momentum indicator which provided a positive crossover in Friday’s trading session may provide speed to the upmove, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan.

“Overall, as long as the Nifty continues to trade above 17,800-17,780 support zone, we expect the positive momentum to continue, he said.

SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 35.5 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 18,237.50, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Tuesday.

Asian shares opened mixed
Asian stocks opened mixed as most markets resumed trade after the May Day holiday. Purchasing managers indices on Tuesday may offer the first glimpses into how several countries around the world performed in April. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.05 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.03 per cent; China's Shanghai Composite index surged 1.41 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.04 per cent while Korea's Kospi advanced 0.61 per cent.

Oil prices fall in early trade
Oil prices fell in thin early Asian trade on Tuesday as the market digests weak economic data from China and expectations of another US interest rate hike. Brent crude fell by 2 cents to $79.29 a barrel by 0021 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2 cents to $75.64. Both benchmarks fell by more than $1 last session.

Wall Street stocks settle lower
US stocks ended little changed on Monday as investors took in the weekend auction of First Republic Bank and braced for this week's expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Investors have been on edge about the banking system's health following the collapse of two other regional banks in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.46 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 34,051.7; the S&P 500 lost 1.61 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 4,167.87; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.99 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 12,212.60.

Q4 earnings today
Tata Steel, Adani Total Gas, Varun Beverages, Ambuja Cements, Uco Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, KEI Industries, DCM Shriram, Home First Finance Company, Spandahn Sphoorty Financial, Newgen Software Technologies, Astec Lifesciences, Control Print, Cignity Technologies, Mold-Tek Technologies, Fino Payments Bank, Yasho Industries and Sasken Technologies are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
Since new series, May, kicks off from Tuesday, May 02. Thus, no stocks have been put under the ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). 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 3,304 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,304.32 crore on Thursday. Similarly, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 264.27 crore. FPIs infused Rs 11,630 crore in the Indian equity markets in April.

Rupee falls 3 paise against dollar
The rupee pared all its initial gains to settle lower by 3 paise at 81.82 against the US currency on Friday amid a strong greenback overseas. However, the strong sentiment in the domestic equities market and fresh foreign fund inflows restricted the depreciating bias in the rupee, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies