GIFT Nifty flat: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement & more

Indian stock indices are likely to open flat on Friday, ahead of the RBI's monetary policy later today. Traders are expecting the central bank to maintain status quo later today. Valiant Laboratories will make market debut today. On the global front, Asian stocks were trading mostly higher but US stocks settled in the red overnight. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan said that Nifty has formed a Morning Star pattern on the daily chart, which has bullish implications. The recent correction has halted around the 20-week moving average (1,9320) and a relief rally over the next few trading sessions is likely, he said.

"On the upside, the pullback till 19,780-19,800 can be seen, which coincides with the 50 per cent Fibonacci retracement level and the 20-day moving average. In terms of levels, 19,460-19,480 is a crucial support zone while 19,670-19,700 may act as an immediate hurdle zone," he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
Kunal Shah of LKP Securities said that Nifty Bank showed some resilience ahead of the RBI policy announcement and was maintaining a support in the 44,000-43,800 range. The immediate resistance on the upside for the index lies in the 44,400-44,500 zone, he said.

"A breakthrough from this range can trigger short coverings, potentially driving the index towards the 45,000 mark, which currently has the highest open interest on the call side. The RBI policy decision may influence the near-term direction of the index," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 3 points, or 0.02 per cent, lower at 19,602, hinting at a flat start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian stocks open higher
Asian shares open higher on Friday, awaiting the US payrolls report due later in the day which will go a long way to determining investor sentiment in the weeks ahead. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.74 per cent. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.10 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 gained 0.49 per cent; New Zealand's DJ dropped 0.57 per cent; China's Shanghai added 0.10 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.88 per cent; South Korea's Kospi rose 0.14 per cent.

Oil prices likely to see weekly losses
Oil prices were on track for their steepest weekly decline since March despite rising in early trade on Friday, on growing worries that higher-for-longer interest rates could stoke a global economic slowdown and curb fuel demand. Brent futures were up 36 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $84.43 at 0147 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $82.73.

Dollar rally halts, dollar index at 106 level
The dollar dipped on Friday but traders were largely keeping to the sidelines in both the currency and US Treasury markets as they looked to US nonfarm payrolls data later in the day for potential catalysts. The dollar index last settled at 106.37. The yen was last bought 148.48 per dollar. Elsewhere, the euro slipped 0.03 per cent to $1.0546 and sterling edged 0.03 per cent lower to $1.2188.

US stocks settle marginally lower
US stocks ended just slightly lower after bouncing off session lows on Thursday as investors awaited Friday's monthly jobs report and further possible clues on the outlook for interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.98 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 33,119.57, the S&P 500 lost 5.56 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 4,258.19 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 16.18 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 13,219.83.

Valiant Laboratories to list today
Shares of Valiant Laboratories will make their Dalal Street debut on Friday. The company sold its shares in the range of Rs 133-140 apiece between September 27 and October 3. The company raised 152.46 crore via IPO route, which was entirely a sale of fresh equity shares of 1,08,90,000 equity shares. The issue was overall subscribed 29.76 times.

Stocks in F&O ban list
Four stocks - Indiabulls Housing Finance, Delta Corp, Punjab National Bank and Manappuram Finance - have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, October 6. Companies where derivative contracts cross 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit are put under bad in the F&O segment.

FPIs sell shares worth Rs 1,864 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs were net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,864.20 crore on Thursday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 521.41 crore.

Rupee fell 3 paise against dollar
The rupee pared initial gains and settled 3 paise lower at 83.27 against the US dollar on Thursday, following a recovery in the American currency. Forex traders said the rupee consolidated in a narrow range as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's rate decision.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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