GIFT Nifty up 21 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, Q3 results, dollar movement, & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open higher on Thursday. Asian stocks were off to a muted note, even as US stocks moved higher overnight. All eyes will be on Q3 results of Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Tech Mahindra, ahead of expiry of January series derivatives contracts. Here's what all you know to know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has slipped below the lower end of a consolidation range. The bearish sentiment appears to be strengthening as the index closed at its lowest point of multiple days, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

"Weakness may persist in the short term, with support at 21,200; below this level, the index could potentially decline towards 21,000 and beyond. This market may continue to be a 'sell on rise' as long as the index remains below the 21,500 level," he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan said Nifty Bank is headed towards 44,600 from a short-term perspective. On the upside 45,800 shall act as an immediate hurdle.

GIFT Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 20.50 points, or 0.10 per cent, higher at 21,283.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian shares remain muted at open
Asian stocks were off to a sluggish start on Wednesday. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.18 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.71 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 shed 0.21 per cent; New Zealand's DJ fell 0.12 cent; China's Shanghai added 0.13 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.35 per cent; South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.43 per cent.

Oil prices little changed
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Wednesday as weak demand and a recovery in supply limited the market's reaction to mounting geopolitical risk. The front-month March contract for Brent crude inched up 5 cents to $79.60 a barrel as at 0138 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude ticked up 7 cents to $74.44 a barrel.

Dollar nears six-week high
The dollar hovered near a six-week high against major peers on Wednesday as investors cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve would be in no rush to cut interest rates in the face of a resilient US economy. The US dollar index was flat at 103.48. The euro was flat at $1.08565, while Sterling was slightly higher at $1.2694. The dollar declined 0.17 per cent to 148.085 yen. China's yuan was steady in offshore trading at 7.1660 per dollar.

Wall Street shares settle higher
The S&P 500 climbed to a record high close on Tuesday as investors digested a mixed bag of early quarterly results and awaited a slew of additional reports from Tesla and other companies later this week. It was the third straight all-time high for the benchmark stock index. The S&P 500 climbed 0.29 per cent to end the session at 4,864.59 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.43 per cent to 15,425.94 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.25 per cent to 37,905.45 points.

Q3 results today
Bajaj Auto, Indian Oil Corporation, DLF, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, TVS Motor Company, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Balkrishna Industries, Container Corporation of India, UCO Bank, Dalmia Bharat, Bharat Dynamics, Exide Industries, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, PNB Housing Finance and Birlasoft are among the companies that will announced their results for the December 2023 quarter today.

Stocks in F&O ban
Five stocks- Balrampur Chini Mills, IRCTC, Oracle Financial Services Software, RBL Bank and National Aluminium Company (Nalco)- have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, January 24. Companies where derivative contracts cross 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit are put under ban in the F&O segment.

FPIs sell shares worth Rs 3,116 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,115.39 crore on Tuesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 214.40 crore.

Rupee fell 8 paisa against dollar
The rupee depreciated 8 paise to 83.15 against the dollar, as foreign fund outflows and weak domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments. However, a weak dollar against major rivals overseas supported the domestic unit and cushioned the downside, forex traders said.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

Also read: Bajaj Auto Q3 results: Profit, sales may grow 30% each; all eyes on realisation, product mix