SGX Nifty up 31 points: Asian markets, crude oil prices, dollar movement, Nifty outlook & more

Domestic stock markets are likely to see a positive start to Wednesday’s session. Asian stocks were trading higher in early trade, tracking an overnight rise in US stocks. Traders will be keenly following the RBI policy review. The US Fed minutes of recent policy review will also be tracked keenly. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has failed to successfully trade above 18,600 level in the last one week. The lower high formation in RSI, a momentum indicator, is intact. Hence traders are advised to be cautious before initiating any long positions, said Ashwin Ramani, Derivatives & Technical Analyst, SAMCO Securities.

"Nifty is now trading between 18,470-18,640 range since the last seven trading sessions. A decisive breakout on either side of the range will provide cues about the future direction of the index. The level of 18,500 will continue to act as a support for Nifty," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 31 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher at 18,710, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian stocks gain in early trade
Asian equities opened higher on Wednesday ahead of Chinese trade data for May. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.65 per cent. Australia's ASX 200 added 0.07 per cent; New Zealand's DJ gained 0.55 per cent; China's Shanghai rose 0.27 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.04 per cent and South Korea's Kospi edged 0.28 per cent higher. Japan's Nikkei was down 1.14 per cent.

Oil prices steady after recent fall
Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after the previous session's losses, as demand concerns owing to slow global economic growth were offset by fears of tighter global supply following Saudi Arabia's pledge to deepen output cuts. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.1 per cent, at $76.38 a barrel at 0039 GMT. The US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $71.85 a barrel.

Dollar edges lower
Dollar edged lower on Wednesday as traders assessed the odds of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week. In the broader currency market, the US dollar dipped in early Asia trade, as traders pared back their expectations of a rate hike at next week's FOMC meeting. The US dollar index slipped 0.03 per cent to 104.05, while the euro rose 0.07 per cent to $1.0698. Against the greenback, sterling rose 0.08 per cent to $1.2432, while the kiwi gained 0.08 per cent to $0.6084. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback slipped 0.27 per cent to 139.26.

Wall Street stocks settle higher
US stocks closed up on Tuesday, helped by some advances in economically sensitive sectors, as investors awaited inflation data and the Federal Reserve's policy meet next week. Inflation data is expected to show consumer prices cooled slightly and the Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.42 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 33,573.28, the S&P 500 gained 10.06 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 4,283.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 46.99 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 13,276.42.

Stocks in F&O ban
Three stocks- Indiabulls Housing Finance, India Cements and Manappuram Finance- has been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, June 7. 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 386 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 385.71 crore on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 489.02 crore.
 
The rupee consolidated in a narrow range to settle 3 paise higher at 82.60 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid a muted trend in domestic equities and fresh foreign fund inflows. The rupee is trading in a narrow range as market participants are vigilant ahead of the RBI's monetary policy later this week. The central bank is widely expected to leave the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies