SGX Nifty drops 11 points: Asian stocks, crude prices, Q4 results & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open flat with a negative bias on Wednesday amid lacklustre cues from global peers. Asian stocks were trading mixed in the early trade while US stocks settled mostly flat overnight. The day would see stock-specific actions as a handful of companies announce their March quarter results. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
A long bear candle was formed on Tuesday with a minor lower shadow on the daily chart. There are overlapping negative candles and the market is sustaining above the immediate support of 17,600 level. The formation of such overlapping candles and lower shadows indicate intent of the bulls to make a comeback.

"Nifty is currently sustaining the support of previous upside broken trend line hurdle around 17,600 level, as per the concept of change in polarity. This support is visible as per daily and weekly time-frame charts. The short term trend for Nifty remains choppy but the medium uptrend status is intact," said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

SGX Nifty signals a muted start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 11 points, or 0.06 per cent, lower at 17,710.50, hinting at a muted start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian shares mixed

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.39 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.33 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 added 0.02 per cent; New Zealand's DJ jumped 0.25 per cent; China's Shanghai Composite index shed 0.22 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 1.14 per cent and Korea's Kospi eased 0.01 per cent.

Oil prices edge higher
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as US crude inventories were seen falling and on strong Chinese economic data, signalling strengthening fuel demand. Brent crude futures gained 7 cents to $84.84 a barrel at 0020 GMT. West Texas Intermediate US crude was up 3 cents to $80.89 a barrel.

US stocks end mixed

The S&P 500 eked out a slim gain on Tuesday after strength in some big technology stocks countered disappointing quarterly reports from Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs as first-quarter earnings season kicked into gear. The Dow and Nasdaq ended with fractional declines on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 33,976.63, the S&P500 index gained 3.55 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 4,154.87 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 12,153.41.

Q4 earnings today
Tata Communications, ICICI Securities, Alok Industries, Mastek, Benares Hotels, Artson Engineering, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Asit C Mehta Financial Services and Gujarat Hotels are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban

Two stocks- Delta Corp and Balrampur Chini Mills- continue to be put under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, April 19. 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 sell shares worth Rs 811 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 810.60 crore on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 401.66
crore.

Rupee falls 3 paise against dollar
The rupee depreciated 3 paise to close at 82.04 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking negative sentiments in the domestic equities market and foreign fund outflows. Forex traders said a weak greenback against major currencies and falling crude prices, however, resisted the fall in the domestic unit.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

Also read: Mastek, Tata Communications, Alok Ind Q4 results today; Thyrocare Technologies shares to turn ex-dividend