D-St set for a cautious opening as GIFT Nifty signals muted start

Indian benchmark indices witnessed strong selling pressure during Wednesday's session, with Brent crude oil prices rising above the $100 per barrel mark amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, further weighing on investor sentiment. Analysts say immediate bias in the index continues to remain down and only a formation of higher high and higher low on a sustained basis in the daily chart will signal a pause in the current down trend.

STATE OF THE MARKETS

GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a muted start

GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 20 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 23,470.5, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a muted start on Thursday.


Tech View: Though the trend remains weak, if the Nifty manages to hold above 23,500 on Thursday, a meaningful recovery could be seen. However, a fall below 23,400 might trigger further correction in the index.

India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, was rose 6.81% to settle at 11.92.

Asian shares fall

Asian stocks were poised to decline Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street as surging oil prices and Treasury yields stoked inflation concerns ahead of key US price data. US oil extended its rally to an eighth straight session.

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures fell 0.9%
• Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 1.3%
• Japan’s Topix fell 0.4%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.7%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed

Gold steadies

Gold prices were little changed during early Asian hours on Thursday as market participants hunkered down for key inflation readings that could influence the U.S. central bank's interest rate path.

Yen rally pauses

Currency markets treaded water in cautious trading on Thursday as investors weighed a fresh surge in oil prices and global bond yields, while the yen's powerful rally also took a breather ahead of U.S. PPI and inflation readings.

Oil prices remain elevated

Oil prices remained elevated on Thursday after Brent crude moved above $100 a barrel, as traders assessed the risk of a deeper supply disruption following the biggest attacks on shipping by Iran and the United States since their six-month-old conflict began.

Read more: Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide stock market action on Thursday

Stocks in F&O ban today

1) SAIL

2) LIC Housing Finance

3) Inox Wind

4) Kaynes

5) Manappuram

6) Bandhan Bank

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 583 crore on Wednesday. DIIs, meanwhile, were net buyers at Rs 1,509 crore.

Rupee

The rupee slumped 34 paise to close at 95.08 against the American currency on Wednesday as crude prices crossed the USD 100 per barrel mark, stoking concerns over inflation and high forex outflows.

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