GIFT Nifty up 16 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, Q1 results & more

Domestic equity markets are likely to open slightly higher on Friday after the sell-off in the previous trading session. Asian stocks fell in the early trading session, while US stocks settled flat-to-slightly positive in the overnight trade after the inflation data euphoria fizzled out. Back home, Q1 earnings are heading towards its end and traders will be looking at India inflation numbers due next week. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty has faced resistance at the falling trend line, and the 20-day moving average is placed in the zone 19,630-19,670. The Nifty was unable to witness follow-through buying and traded within the range 19,645-19,467 of the previous trading session, said Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"Until the Nifty trades below the zone 19,630-19,670, we can expect the pressure to persist. The momentum set up on the daily and hourly time frame charts are providing divergent signals which can lead to a consolidation in the short term. Overall, the trend is still negative, and we expect the nifty to target levels of 19,100 from a short-term perspective," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Nifty International Exchange traded 16 points, or 0.08 per cent, higher at 19,556, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian stocks fall in early trade
Asian shares dropped on Friday as US stocks's initial euphoria fizzled out after a thumbs up to US inflation data. Concerns about global economic health continue to linger on the traders. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.40 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.87 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 shed 0.18 per cent; New Zealand's DJ added 0.11 per cent; China's Shanghai dropped 0.47 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.52  per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.09 per cent.

Oil prices tick higher
Oil prices edged higher on Friday on optimism from the OPEC producer group that oil demand will be robust in 2024 as it also nudged up its expectations for global economic growth. Brent crude rose 7 cents to settle at $86.47 a barrel at 0017 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 12 cents at $82.94 a barrel.

Dollar steady after CPI data
The dollar was steady on Friday as traders wagered that the Federal Reserve is done with rate hikes after data showed US consumer prices increased moderately in July, while the yen was flirting with the psychologically key 145 level. The dollar index eased 0.078 per cent to 102.54. The Japanese yen eased 0.10 per cent to 144.89 per dollar in early Asian hours. The euro was up 0.08 per cent to $1.0988, while the sterling was last at $1.2684, up 0.07 per cent on the day,

US stocks end flat
Wall Street main indices finished flat on Thursday, giving up most early gains on milder-than-feared inflation data as investors worried about the US economy's longer-term prospects and whether stocks had further room to run. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.79 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 35,176.15, the S&P 500 gained 1.12 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 4,468.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 15.97 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 13,737.99.

Q1 results today
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Hindustan Aeronautics, ABB India, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Power Finance Corporation, Jindal Steel & Power, Zydus Lifesciences, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Info Edge (India), Muthoot Finance, Astral, NHPC, Patanjali Foods, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, NMDC, Voltas, Timken India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Sun TV Network are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the June 2023 quarter during the day.

Stocks in F&O ban
As many as nine stocks have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, August 11. The list retentions like Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, Delta Corp, Balrampur Chini Mills, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Hindustan Copper, while Can Fin Homes, Granules India, Manappuram Finance and Zee Entertainment Enterprises are the new entrants.

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 buy shares worth Rs 331 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 331.22 crore on Thursday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 703.72 crore.
 
Rupee rebounds 19 paise against US dollar
The rupee gained 19 paise to close at 82.66 against the US dollar on Thursday after the Reserve Bank announced measures to take out excess liquidity from the banking system and kept its key interest rates unchanged. Forex traders said rupee appreciated tracking a weak tone in the US dollar. However, weak domestic markets and a surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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