SGX Nifty up 35 points: Asian stocks, Crude prices, dollar movement, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic stock indices are set to open higher on Thursday amid mixed global cues. Asian stocks were mostly up in the early trade. US stocks settled on a muted note overnight despite a soft inflation print. Back home, the last leg of the Q4 numbers will sway the sentiment on Dalal Street. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty is still hovering around the upper boundary of the broad trading range and both the bulls and the bears are trying hard to defend their respective boundaries, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan.
 

“On the way down, 18,220-18,200 is acting as a crucial support zone for Nifty while the 18,330-18,350 range is acting as an immediate hurdle. The index is witnessing volatile trade within this range. Until we get a decisive close beyond the extremes of this range the sideways price action is likely to continue," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 35 points, or 0.19 per cent, higher at 18,393.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks mostly higher
Asian markets opened mostly higher on Thursday Wall Street and world markets cheered below-consensus US inflation but they may not be so accommodating if Chinese inflation on Thursday also undershoots forecasts. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.04 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.24 per cent; China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.08 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.08 per cent and Korea's Kospi gained 0.39 per cent.

Oil prices edge higher
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday after strong demand for fuels in the US outweighed concerns about the possibility of the world's biggest oil producer and consumer defaulting on its debt. Brent crude futures rose by 26 cents, or 0.34 per cent, to $76.67 a barrel by 0015 GMT. US crude futures rose 28 cents to $72.84.

Dollar drops on easing inflation conce
The dollar sank for a second day against the yen on Thursday, feeling the pressure from lower US Treasury yields after slowing inflation gave traders more confidence that the Federal Reserve is through with rate hikes. The dollar index edged 0.05 per cent lower to 101.36. The US currency fell 0.26 per cent to trade at 134.025 yen in the Asian morning. The euro inched 0.05 per cent higher to $1.09885, moving back the middle of its trading range over the past month. Sterling nosed up 0.04 per cent to $1.2631, edging back toward Wednesday's one-year high of $1.2679.

Wall Street stocks settle mixed
US stocks settled mixed on Wednesday amid a slightly lower-than-expected increase in April inflation and Alphabet Inc's latest artificial intelligence rollout. Dow Jones fell 30.48 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 33,531.33; theS&P 500 gained 18.47 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 4,137.64; and the Nasdaq Composite added 126.89 points, or 1.04 per cent, at 12,306.44.

US inflation at 4.9% in  April

CPI inflation in the US rose 4.9 per cent in April from a year ago, compared with expectations of a 5 per cent increase, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hiking cycle is close to an end.  

Q4 earnings today
Asian Paints, Siemens, Eicher Motors, Aditya Birla Capital, Deepak Nitrite, Gujarat State Petronet, Gillette India, ITI, Alkyl Amines Chemicals, Balrampur Chini Mills, BSL International, BSE, Zensar Technologies, Ujjivan Small Finance, Intellect Design Arena, PDS, Religare Enterprises, South Indian Bank and Neuland Laboratories are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
Four stocks stocks-, Canara Bank, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC), Bharat Heavy Electrical (BHEL) and Manappuram Finance- have been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, May 11. 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 1,833 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,833.13 crore on Wednesday. Similarly, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 789.67 crore.

Rupee rises 12 paise against US dollar
The rupee appreciated by 12 paise to close at 81.94 against the US dollar in a restricted trade on Wednesday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the crucial US inflation data. Forex traders said significant foreign fund inflows, a firm trend in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices also supported the local unit.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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