GIFT Nifty up 34 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, Q3 results, dollar movement, & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open higher on Thursday, ahead of the expiry of January series F&O contracts. Asian stocks were up in the early trade, tracking an overnight rise in US stocks. Back home, all eyes would be on Q3 earnings,  ahead of extended weekend. Here's what all you know to know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty formed a long positive candle on the daily chart, which is indicating a formation of Bullish Piercing Line-type candle pattern. A formation of such patterns after a reasonable weakness calls for caution for shorts. The negative chart pattern like lower top-bottom is intact, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

"Nifty is currently placed at the midpoint of Tuesday's long bear candle at 21,500 level. The short-term trend of Nifty seems to have reversed up, but the uncertainty remains in the market at the highs. The market could encounter strong resistance around 21,500-21,600 level in the coming session. The immediate support is at 21,220." he said.

Nifty Bank outlook
Nifty Bank successfully defending the crucial support level of 44,500, where fresh put writing activities were observed after a brief downturn, said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.

"Despite the rebound, the index is still navigating a downtrend. A potential pullback rally towards the 45,500-mark is anticipated. However, a significant development would be the index closing above 45,500, triggering further short-covering moves towards the 46,000 level, characterized by the highest open interest on the call side," he said.

GIFT Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 34 points, or 0.16 per cent, higher at 21,457, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian shares trade mostly higher
Asian stocks kicked off on a positive note on Thursday after the improvement in investor sentiment toward China and Hong Kong continues, following the Chinese central bank's latest move to inject liquidity and support asset prices. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.26 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.29 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.26 per cent; New Zealand's DJ fell 0.06 cent; China's Shanghai surged 1.34 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.57 per cent; South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.50 per cent.

Oil rises on big draw in US crude stocks
Oil prices rose on Thursday after data showed US crude stockpiles fell more than expected last week, while the Chinese central bank's cut in banks' reserve ratio reinforced hopes of more stimulus measures and economic recovery. The March contract for Brent crude gained 20 cents, 0.3 per cent, to $80.24 a barrel as at 0128 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 22 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $75.31 a barrel.

Dollar steady near six-week high
The dollar was broadly steady near a six-week high on Thursday, as investors await GDP and other data this week to gauge where US rates are headed, while the euro was soft ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day. The dollar index rose 0.06 per cent to 103.33. In Asia, the offshore Chinese yuan rose 0.06 per cent to $7.1648 per dollar. The Japanese yen weakened 0.16 per cent to 147.75 per dollar. Sterling was last at $1.2706, down 0.13 per cent  on the day. Meanwhile, the euro was down 0.07 per cent to $1.0875 ahead of the ECB policy meeting.

Wall Street shares gain for 4^th day
The S&P 500 climbed to its fourth straight record high close on Wednesday, as Netflix surged following blowout quarterly results and a strong report from ASML fueled gains in chipmakers. Street's most valuable companies were riding optimism. The S&P 500 climbed 0.08 per cent to end the session at 4,868.55 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.36 per cent to 15,481.92 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.26 per cent to 37,806.39 points.

Q3 results today
Adani Power, JSW Steel, SBI Life Insurance Company, Punjab National Bank, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company, Vedanta, Shriram Finance, SBI Cards & Payment Services, Hindustan Petroleum, Corporation, AU Small Finance Bank, Tata Technologies, ACC, Indraprastha Gas, Syngene International, Vedant Fashions and Cyient are among the companies that will announced their results for the December 2023 quarter today.

Stocks in F&O ban
Only one stock- Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) - have been put under the F&O segment ban by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, January 25. 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 6,935 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 6,934.93 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 6,012.67 crore.

Rupee rises 3 paise against dollar
The rupee stayed range-bound and settled 3 paise higher at 83.12 against the US dollar on Wednesday. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as positive domestic markets and a soft US dollar supported the rupee while rising crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows capped gains.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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