SGX Nifty down 47 points: Asian stocks, crude prices, dollar movement, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic equity indices are likely to open lower for another session amid the negative global cues. Asian stock opened mostly lower, following the US markets as Wall Street ended lower amid the US debt ceiling concerns. However, drop in crude oil, rupee appreciation and FIIs buying are some key positives for Dalal Street. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook

On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty has been trading in the range of 18,400-18,000 for the past couple of weeks. The pullback that it witnessed after taking support at the 20-day moving average fizzled out around the 18,400 mark because the momentum indicator still has a negative crossover, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"Price and momentum indicators are currently not in sync with each other which can lead to a consolidation in the near term. We still believe that the Nifty is in a consolidation mode and the range of consolidation is likely to be 18,000-18,400. In terms of levels, 18,420-18,450 shall act as the immediate hurdle while 18,200-18,150 is the crucial support zone to watch out for on the downside," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a negative start

Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 46.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, lower at 18,339.50, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Thursday.

Asian stocks open lower

Asian stocks opened mostly lower on Thursday against a backdrop of growing nervousness across world markets that the U.S. could be sleepwalking to an unprecedented and catastrophic default. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.58 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.40 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 dropped 0.88 per cent; New Zealand's DJ added 0.08 per cent; China's Shanghai shed 0.17 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 1.69 per cent and South Korea's Kospi declined 0.35 per cent.

Oil prices drop in early trade

Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Thursday after uncertainty that the United States will avoid a debt default weighed against the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts. Brent crude futures slipped 5 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $78.31 a barrel by 0042 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 16 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $74.18.

Dollar ascendant amid resilient US economy

The dollar pushed to a two-month high against the euro and a six-month peak versus the yen on Thursday, as a resilient US economy led traders to pare their bets on rate cuts this year. The US dollar index touched a two-month high of 104.01. The dollar touched $1.07425 per euro early in the Asian session for the first time since March 24 and bought 139.66 yen. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan renewed a six-month low by dropping to 7.0827 per dollar in the offshore market.

Wall Street ended lower

Wall Street's main indexes ended lower on Wednesday as talks between the White House and Republican representatives on raising the US debt ceiling dragged on without a deal. The lack of progress on raising the US government's $31.4 trillion debt limit ahead of a June 1 deadline, with several rounds of inconclusive talks, has made investors edgier as the risk of a catastrophic default looms larger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255.59 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 32,799.92, the S&P 500 lost 30.34 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 4,115.24 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 76.08 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 12,484.16.

Q4 earnings today

Page Industries, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Vodafone Idea, General Insurance Corporation of India, AIA Engineering, Bharat Dynamics, ZEE Entertainment, Emami, Radico Khaitan, Indian Energy Exchange, Aster DM Healthcare, Suven Pharmaceuticals, TTK Prestige, Medplus Health Services, GMM Pfaudler and eClerx Services are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban

Two stocks-  Indiabulls Housing Finance and Delta Corp- have been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Thursday, May 25. 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 301 cr

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 300.93 crore on Wednesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1,185.84 crore.

Rupee rises 17 paise against US dollar

The rupee appreciated by 17 paise to 82.68 against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by foreign capital inflows. A strong dollar against major rivals overseas and weak domestic equities weighed on the local unit and capped the appreciating bias, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies