GIFT Nifty up 31 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, Q1 results & more

Domestic equity indices are likely to open higher on Friday, tracking positive cues from Asian markets. US stocks settled slightly lower overnight, as traders awaited the key farm payroll data due later today. Back home, the IPO by Concord Biotech will open for subscription. Also a slew of Q1 earnings by SBI, M&M and BHEL will continue to trigger stock-specific actions. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty on Thursday fell for the second consecutive session. The index has drifted towards its 40-day moving average, which can act as an immediate support zone to watch out for, said Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"The hourly moving average placed in the range 19,560-19,590 should act as an immediate hurdle zone from a short-term perspective. Considering the sharp fall in the last couple of sessions, we can expect a pullback over the next few trading sessions," he added.

GIFT Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Nifty International Exchange traded 30.5 points, or 0.16 per cent, higher at 19,482, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian stocks open higher
Asian shares rose on Friday, while the dollar pulled back from a one-month peak, as investors took stock of the slew of US economic data that showed a resilient labour market ahead of a crucial non-farm payrolls report due later in the day. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.26 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.08 per cent; China's Shanghai gained 0.44 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.28 per cent and South Korea's Kospi added 0.13 per cent.

Brent oil extends gains
Oil prices rose for a second day on Friday, set for their sixth week of gains, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's second and third-largest crude producers, pledged to cut output through next month. Brent crude futures for October rose 30 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $85.44 a barrel by 0042 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September rose 36 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $81.90.

Dollar off one-month high
The US dollar pulled back from a one-month peak as investors took stock of the slew of US economic data that showed a resilient labour market. In currencies, the dollar index fell 0.039 per cent to 102.41, easing away from the near one-month peak of 102.84 reached on Thursday. The euro was up 0.08 per cent to $1.0953, while the yen weakened 0.04 per cent to 142.63 per dollar. Sterling last fetched $1.2725, up 0.09 per cent.

US stocks settle slightly lower
US stocks closed little changed on Thursday after a choppy trading session, as investors weighed another rise in Treasury yields with the latest batch of economic data and earnings. Investors were waiting for July's jobs report, due on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.63 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 35,215.89, the S&P 500 lost 11.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 4,501.89 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.73 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 13,959.72.

Q1 results today
State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Britannia Industries, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Delhivery, Fortis Healthcare, Bata India, Fortis Healthcare, Bharat Dynamics, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, IDFC, Gujarat State Petronet, Alembic Pharma, Century Plyboards (India), Hudco and Tata Investment Corporation are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the June 2023 quarter during the day.

Concord Biotech IPO
The initial public offering (IPO) of Concord Biotech will open for subscription today as the company intends to raise Rs 1,551 crore via primary route by selling its shares in the range of Rs 705-741 apiece, with a lot size of 20 shares. The issue, which is entirely an offer for sale, is open for subscription till Tuesday, August 8. Concord Biotech is an R&D-driven biopharma company.

Stocks in F&O ban
Three stocks- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC), Hindustan Copper and Piramal Enterprises- have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, August 4. 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 sell shares worth Rs 317 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 317.46 crore on Thursday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1,729.19 crore.
 
Rupee falls 7 paise against dollar
The rupee fell by 7 paise to settle at 82.74 against the US dollar on Thursday on weak domestic equities and a stronger greenback in the overseas market. Sustained foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices further dented sentiments, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies