GIFT Nifty up 70 points; here's the trading setup for today's session

Indian equities traded lower on Thursday with the Nifty witnessing some profit booking as investors await further developments on the West Asia conflict. While near-term support may emerge from easing West-Asia tensions and stable crude prices, analysts say the sustainability of any recovery will depend on clarity around the US–Iran situation, movement in energy prices and improvement in liquidity conditions.

STATE OF THE MARKETS
GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a positive start
GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded higher by 69 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 23,949, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Friday.

• Tech View: Going ahead, a decisive breakout above 24,000 is crucial to trigger a potential short-covering rally towards the 24,500 zone. On the downside, immediate support is now placed at 23,500 levels.
• India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, rose nearly 4% to settle at 20.43 levels.

US stocks end higher
U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday, as ongoing negotiations toward a peaceful resolution to the six-week Middle East conflict helped ease worries over the fragile U.S.-Iran truce. All three major U.S. stock indexes gained ground after rebounding from an earlier dip as Israel ‌sought talks with Lebanon.

• Dow up 0.58%,
• S&P 500 rises 0.62%,
• Nasdaq gains 0.83%

Asian shares gain
Asian stocks posted a modest gain as investors remained cautious amid a shaky Middle East ceasefire ahead of US-Iran talks this weekend.

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:23 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures rose 0.7%
• Japan’s Topix rose 0.2%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.3%

Dollar dips
The dollar on Friday was heading for its largest weekly drop since January as other currencies gained on optimism that a ceasefire in the Gulf will hold and oil shipping will resume.

Oil rises
Oil prices rose in early trading on Friday following attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, and as markets evaluated the risk premium from the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite a fragile truce agreed between the U.S. and Iran.

Stocks in F&O ban today

SAIL
Sammaan Capital

Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs 1,711 crore on Wednesday. DIIs, meanwhile, were net buyers at Rs 956 crore.

Rupee
The Indian rupee fell modestly on Thursday as concerns over the longevity of the US-Iran truce pushed oil prices higher, denting local stocks and bonds and weighing on risk assets globally.

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