SGX Nifty up 6 points: Asian markets rise, dollar subdues, crude prices slips, FPI flows & more

Bucking the positive cues from the global markets, Dalal Street is likely to open flat on Wednesday. Domestic benchmark indices may look for a direction ahead of the US Fed's policy outcome later in the day. However, the sentiment remained positive as Asian peers posted big gains in the early trade, whereas US stocks settled higher in the overnight trade. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:Nifty outlook The Nifty has been consolidating for the past few days, indicating indecisiveness. The trend remained negative for the short term as the index has been sustaining below the critical moving average on the daily chart, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. "The RSI on the daily chart has narrowed down its bearish crossover. The trend is likely to remain sideways as long as it remains within the bands of 16,950-17,200. A decisive move above 17,200 may induce a rally towards 17,450-17,500. While a decisive fall below 16,950 may trigger a steeper correction in the market," he said.SGX Nifty signals a flat start Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 6 points, or 0.03 per cent up at 17,150, hinting at a flat start for the domestic market on Wednesday.Asian shares opened with big gains Asian shares staged a cautious bounce on Wednesday with hopes a global banking crisis would be averted vying with uncertainty over the outlook for US interest rates as the Federal Reserve holds a high-stakes meeting on policy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.42 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.93 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 jumped 0.97 per cent; New Zealand's DJ gained 0.35 per cent; China's Shanghai rose 0.53 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.33 per cent and Seoul's Kospi soared 1.12 per cent.Oil prices edged lower Oil prices eased a touch in early trade, having rallied 2 per cent overnight, extending a retreat from a 15-month low. Brent dipped 22 cents to $75.12 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 27 cents to $69.40.Dollar trades subdued The dollar was pinned near five-week lows on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting, with investors awaiting clarity on the path the central bank is likely to take in the wake of global banking turmoil. The US dollar index was at 103.22. The euro was at $1.0767. The yen weakened 0.04 per cent to 132.59 a dollar, whereas sterling was last trading at $1.2221, up 0.06 per cent. The Australian dollar rose 0.04 per cent to $0.667.US stocks ended in green Wall Street closed sharply higher on Tuesday as widespread fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Federal Reserve, which is expected to conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday with a 25 basis-point hike to its policy rate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316.02 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 32,560.6, the S&P 500 gained 51.3 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 4,002.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 184.57 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 11,860.11.Stocks in F&O ban Two stocks- Indiabulls Housing Finance and Biocon- have been retained under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, March 22. 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 sell shares worth Rs 1,455 cr Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,454.63 crore on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 1,946.06 crore.Rupee falls 3 paise The rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 82.59 against the US dollar on Tuesday ahead of the much-anticipated US Federal Reserve decision on key policy rate. A rebound in crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit while a weak US dollar ahead of the interest rate decision and gains in domestic equities supported the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said. Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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