GIFT Nifty down 108 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement & more

Benchmark stock indices look all set for a gap-down start on Thursday after a hawkish Fed commentary. Asian stocks tumbled in the early trade, tracking negative closing for US stocks overnight. The US central bank kept the rate unchanged but signalled high interest rates for longer-than-expected. Back home, EMS shares will list on bourses today. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty after seeing a period of consolidation  experienced a correction, which could be considered as an early indication of a bearish reversal, said Rupak De, Senior Technical analyst at LKP Securities. "Additionally, a negative crossover is evident on the daily RSI. In the short term, it is probable that the Nifty will fall toward the 19,700-19,630 range. Selling on rallies might remain a favorable strategy as long as the index remains below the 20,00 mark," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 108 points, or 0.54 per cent, lower at 19,864, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks open with big cuts
Asian stocks followed Wall Street's lead on Thursday, dipping across the board as investors interpreted the US Federal Reserve's latest policy statements as signalling higher-for-longer interest rates. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.14 per cent. Japan's Nikkei tanked 1.02 per cent; China's Shanghai cracked 0.46 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.33 per cent; South Korea's Kospi declined 1.15 per cent.

Oil drops ahead of central bank meets
Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Thursday after falling by the most in a month in the previous session on US interest rate hike expectations, and ahead of a steer from other central banks on their rate outlooks. Brent futures for November delivery fell 44 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $89.18 a barrel by 0010 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 49 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $89.17.

Dollar rises after Fed commentary
The dollar hit fresh peaks on Thursday, sitting around its highest against the yen since November after a hawkish pause by the US Federal Reserve. Sterling sank to fresh multi-month lows in the wake of an inflation report that surprised to the downside on Wednesday. The dollar index rose as high as 105.59 on Thursday, its strongest since March 9. The Japanese yen was feeling the heat after the Fed meeting, hovering around 148.39 per dollar. The euro was last down over 0.2 per cent at $1.0632 and Sterling was last trading at $1.2311, falling over 0.2 per cent in the Asian morning.

US stocks settle lower, treasury yields up
A gauge of global stocks tumbled and Treasury yields shot up on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve projected another rate hike by year end and much tighter monetary policy through 2024 than previously expected to fight still too high inflation. All three major US stock indices retreated in the wake of the announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76.85 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 34,440.88, the S&P 500 lost 41.75 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 4,402.2 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 209.06 points, or 1.53 per cent, to 13,469.13.

EMS to make market debut today
EMS is set to make its debut on Dalal Street on Today. The IPO of EMS was open for bidding between September 8 to September 14 to raise a little more than Rs 321 crore. It sold its shares in the fixed price band of Rs 200-211 with a lot size of 70 shares and its multiples. The issue was overall subscribed a stellar 76.21 times.

Stocks in F&O ban list
As many as nine stocks have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, September 21. Balrampur Chini Mills, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), REC, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Manappuram Finance continue to be remain in the ban list of NSE.

FPIs sell shares worth Rs 3,111 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs were net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,110.69 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 573.02 crore.

Rupee jumps 24 paise against dollar
Staging an impressive rebound from its lifetime low levels, the rupee surged by 24 paise to end at 83.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday, aided by losses in global crude prices and a weak dollar ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision. Besides, possible intervention by the central bank to check volatility in currency markets also helped the domestic unit, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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