SGX Nifty down 55 points: Asian stocks, crude prices, dollar movement, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic benchmark indices are set to open lower on Friday, bucking the positive global cues. Asian stocks were mostly up in the early trading session as Wall Street settled higher during the overnight trade. Concerns over the US debt ceiling are likely to sway the markets. Back home, select blue-chips including M&M, Sun Pharma and Grasim will announce their Q4 results. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty remained volatile during the day, but found support at the 18,200 level before moving higher. The RSI is in bullish crossover on the lower timeframe, which suggests that the momentum is in favor of the bulls, said Rupak De, Senior Technical at LKP Securities

"On the higher end, resistance is seen at 18,500. Support is seen at 18,200. Overall, the outlook for the market is positive, but there is still some volatility to be expected. Traders should take profits on rallies and look for opportunities to buy on dips," he added.

SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 55 points, or 0.30 per cent, lower at 18,412 hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian stocks opened mostly up
Asian stocks opened mostly higher on Friday to end a volatile and dramatic week on a strong note lifted by the Nasdaq's best day in three weeks on Thursday and hope that US lawmakers are close to a deal on the debt ceiling. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.46 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.82 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 added 0.11 per cent; New Zealand's DJ dropped 0.87 per cent; China's Shanghai shed 0.33 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 1.93 per cent and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.36 per cent.

Oil prices were steady in early trade
Oil prices were roughly unchanged in early trading on Friday, as markets awaited clarity on OPEC and its allies' next oil policy moves after conflicting messages made it hard to predict the outcome of the meeting next week. Brent crude slipped 4 cents to $76.22 a barrel at 0022 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate was up 9 cents, or 0.1 per cent, at $71.92 a barrel.

Dollar eyes third weekly gain
The dollar stood near a two-month high against its major peers on Friday and was headed for a third weekly gain on expectations that US interest rates could remain higher for longer than initially expected. The US dollar index edged 0.05 per cent lower to 104.18, just off of Thursday's two-month high of 104.31. The greenback was up in early Asia trade and sat at 139.82 yen. The British pound and the euro struggled against the stronger dollar, with sterling edging 0.04 per cent higher to $1.2326. The euro was little changed at $1.0724, languishing near a two-month low hit in the previous session.

Wall Street settled with gains
Progress on US debt ceiling talks bolstered global equities and sent gold prices to a two-month low on Thursday, as forecast-smashing revenue from chipmaker Nvidia fueled a rally in AI-related companies. Treasury yields were up and the US dollar climbed to its highest level since mid-March. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88 per cent to end the session at 4,151.28 points and the Nasdaq surged 1.71 per cent to 12,698.09 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11 per cent to 32,764.65 points.

Q4 earnings today
Sun Pharmaceuticals, Mahindra & Mahindra, Info Edge (India), Oil and Natural Gas Corporations (ONGC), Grasim Industries, Samvardhana Motherson International, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Nexus Select Trust REIT, Finolex Cables, Housing and Urban Development Corporation, City Union Bank, Shree Renuka Sugars, Easy Trip Planners, NCC and PNC Infratech are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
Since it is the beginning of the new series, no stock has been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, May 26. 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 589 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 589.10 crore on Thursday, However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 338.44 crore.

Rupee falls 4 paise against US dollar
The rupee fell 4 paise to close at 82.72 against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market. However, continued foreign fund inflows supported the domestic unit and restricted the fall, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

Also read: Adani Green Energy shares in focus as Fitch says outlook for AGEL RG1 stable ​​​​​​​