D-St set for a positive opening as GIFT Nifty signals firm start

Indian equity benchmark Nifty index witnessed a positive close on Wednesday, snapping its two-session losing streak. Analysts say the overall market texture remains range-bound, with traders awaiting a decisive breakout for the next directional move.

STATE OF THE MARKETS
GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a positive start
GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded higher by 148.5 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 24,192.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.

• Tech View: Going forward, analysts say the bullish bias is likely to remain intact as long as the Nifty holds above the 23,800 support level. On the higher side, the index may continue its slow but steady upward trajectory, with the potential to move towards 24,200 and higher over the near term.
• India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, fell 2.6% to settle at 13.24 levels.

US stocks end lower
U.S. stocks finished slightly lower on Wednesday with falling technology shares, but gains in Meta Platforms provided some support along with comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh that inflation risks had eased recently. Warsh also said he will stick firmly to the U.S. central ‌bank's 2% inflation ⁠target and "disappoint" ⁠anyone who expects loose monetary policy despite President Donald Trump's call for interest rate cuts.

Asian stocks fall
Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days after a selloff in chipmakers revived concerns that the artificial intelligence-driven rally may have gone too far, too fast.

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 9:46 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures were unchanged
• Japan’s Topix rose 0.2%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.3%

Oil slips
Oil prices dropped in early trade on Thursday after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made "positive progress" in indirect talks that concluded on Wednesday, focused on the Strait of Hormuz, which handled one-fifth of global oil supply before the war.

Gold extend gains
Gold prices extended gains on Thursday, after hitting a more than one-week high in the previous session, as investors took stock of softer-than-expected jobs data, while lower oil prices lent additional support to bullion.

Dollar steady
The dollar held steady on Thursday as markets awaited key U.S. non-farm payrolls data, while the yen's slide to 40-year lows against the greenback and thin trading ahead of a U.S. holiday kept traders on high alert for intervention.

Stocks in F&O ban today

1) NIL

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.

Rupee
The Indian rupee fell to a near three-week low on Wednesday, tracking declines in Asian currencies as investors turned cautious ahead of remarks from the US Federal Reserve chair and uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations.

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