SGX Nifty up 10 points: Asian stocks fall, crude prices rise, dollar strengthens, & more

Domestic equity markets are likely to open lower on Wednesday, tracking the muted cues from Asian markets, which dropped sharply ahead of China's PMI numbers. US stocks, which opened after a day's hiatus, settled mixed during the overnight trade. Back home, Q4 results season is officially over and India's GDP for March quarter is likely to be tracked. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
The short-term trend of Nifty remains up. Further upsides are likely once the immediate resistance of 18,662 is taken out. Immediate target is at 18,696. Crucial support to watch for weakness is at 18,575, said Subash Gangandharan, Senior Technical and Derivative Analyst at HDFC Securities.

"On the Daily chart, we observe that the Nifty has taken out the previous swing high of 18,459 on last Friday, indicating the bulls remain in control. We expect the uptrend to continue in the coming sessions. Immediate upside targets for Nifty are now at 18,696. Short term corrections are not ruled out. Crucial supports to watch for weakness are at 18,575," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a flat start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 51.5 points, or 0.27 per cent, lower at 18,678.50, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian stocks opened lower
Asian shares fell sharply on Wednesday as the focus turns to Chinese purchasing managers index figures, which will give the first insight into factory and service sector activity in the world's second largest economy in May. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.07 per cent. Japan's Nikkei tanked 0.96 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 tanked 1.25 per cent; New Zealand's DJ shed 0.07 per cent; China's Shanghai dropped 0.59 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 1.86 per cent and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.01 per cent.

Oil prices edge up
Oil prices edged up on Wednesday after steep losses in the prior session, as market participants awaited an expected vote on a bipartisan deal to lift the $31.4 trillion US debt ceiling. Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 11 cents to $73.82 a barrel by 0013 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained 8 cents to $69.54 a barrel. Both fell more than 4 per cent on Tuesday.

Dollar gained strength
The US dollar rose on Wednesday, hitting a 10-week high after a deal over the US debt ceiling lifted risk sentiment. The dollar index rose 0.1 per cent to 104.26. Meanwhile, the euro was down 0.09 per cent at $1.0707, while sterling was last trading at $1.2389, falling 0.15 per cent on the day. The yen gained 0.03 per cent to 139.82 per dollar.

US stocks ended flat
Stocks on Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday, pressured by worries about U.S. lawmakers opposed to a deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, but supported by another surge in Nvidia shares that briefly lifted the chipmaker into the rare club of companies valued at $1 trillion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.56 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 33,042.78, the S&P 500 gained 0.07 points, or 0.00 per cent, to 4,205.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 41.74 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 13,017.43.


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 Wednesday, May 31. 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 2,086  cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 2,085.62 crore on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 438.93 crore.

Rupee falls 4 paise against US dollar
The rupee depreciated by 4 paise to 82.67 against the US dollar on Tuesday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments. A positive trend in domestic equities, foreign capital inflows and a steep fall in the crude prices capped the losses in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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