GIFT Nifty down 36 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, Nifty outlook & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open lower on Thursday amid negative global cues. Asian stocks bled in the early trade while US stocks settled lower overnight after the Fed's minutes of meeting signaled further monetary tightening by the US central bank. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has formed an Inside Bar Pattern on the daily chart, indicating consolidation. The hourly Bollinger bands are contracting, indicating a range-bound price action. Nifty is in the process of consolidation after a sharp runup and this consolidation may form a floor for the next leg of up move, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"Over the next few trading sessions, we expect the Nifty to consolidate in the range 19,500-19,300 and a dip towards the 19,300 should be used as a buying opportunity," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Nifty International Exchange traded 36 points, or 0.18 per cent, lower at 19,476, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks tank in early trade
Asian stocks were mostly bleeding in the early trade on Thursday after the minutes of the Fed's June meeting released showed that the vast majority of policymakers expect further tightening in US monetary policy, even as they agreed to hold interest rates steady last month. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.66 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.06 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 tanked 1.01 per cent; New Zealand's DJ fell 0.11 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.07 per cent and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.28 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, added 0.11 per cent.

Oil prices hold steady
Oil prices were little changed in early Asian trade on Thursday as the prospect of tighter supply with output cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia and a bigger-than-expected drop in US crude stocks were offset by worries over a sluggish demand recovery in China. Brent crude futures were down 2 cents to $76.63 a barrel after settling up 0.5 per cent the previous day. US West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $71.90 a barrel, up 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent.

Dollar strengthens on Fed minutes
The dollar was broadly higher on Thursday, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent policy review cemented market expectations for a rate hike this month. The dollar index rose 0.04 per cent to 103.38, while the euro touched a near one-week low of $1.0843 against the dollar. The yen rose more than 0.2 per cent to 144.30 per dollar. The Chinese yuan stood at 7.2593 per dollar.

Wall Street stocks settle lower
Wall Street's main indices ended with modest declines on Wednesday, as investors digested minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting and braced for significant economic data in the days to come. Minutes showed a united Fed agreed to hold interest rates steady at the June meeting as a way to buy time and assess whether further rate hikes would be needed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129.83 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 34,288.64, the S&P 500 lost 8.77 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 4,446.82 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 25.12 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 13,791.65.

Stocks in F&O ban
No stock has been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, July 6. Derivative contracts in a security are banned when they cross 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 buy shares worth Rs 1,603 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,603.15 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 439.01 crore.

Rupee falls 24 paise against dollar
The rupee fell 24 paise to close at 82.25 against the US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by weak equity markets and disappointing domestic macroeconomic data. The strength of the American currency in the overseas market and crude oil prices hovering above USD 76 per barrel also put downside pressure on the rupee.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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