SGX Nifty up 39 points: Asian stocks, dollar, crude prices, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to kick off the week on a firm note. Asian stocks were trading mixed ahead of a busy week. US stocks settled Friday’s trade with mild gains. Dollar and crude oil prices eased slightly, which may add to Dalal Street optimism. Back home, traders will be keenly looking at Q4 earnings and react to numbers of Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and YES Bank. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has formed a long bearish candle on the weekly chart, which is largely negative. After a short-term correction, the index has been consistently taking support near the 200-day SMA, said Amol Athawale, Technical Analyst (DVP), Kotak Securities. "For the traders, 17,550 would be the immediate support level while 17,650 could act as an important resistance zone. Below the same, the market could slip till 17,450 -17,400. Above 17,650, the chances of Nifty hitting 17,750-17,800 would turn bright," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 39 points, or 0.22 per cent, higher at 17,678.50 hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Monday.

Asian shares mixed in early trade
Asian shares started cautiously on Monday in a week packed with economic data and central bank meetings, along with earnings from the tech giants that have kept the S&P 500 afloat so far this year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, down merely 0.01 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.34 per cent; China's Shanghai eased 0.13 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.06 per cent and Korea's Kospi declined 0.50 per cent.

Oil prices slid lower
Oil prices slipped on Monday as concerns about rising interest rates, the global economy and the outlook for fuel demand outweighed support from the prospect of tighter supplies on OPEC+ supply cuts. Brent crude slipped 48 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $81.18 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $77.39 a barrel, down 48 cents, also 0.6 per cent lower.

US dollar edged lower
The dollar began the last trading week of the month on the back foot, with traders awaiting a slew of central bank meetings in May for clues on when the steepest global monetary policy tightening campaign in years might come to a halt. The US dollar dipped against most major currencies in early Asia trade and was eyeing a monthly loss of close to 0.9 per cent. Against the US Dollar, Euro and Sterling rose 0.05 per cent to $1.0994 and 0.02 per cent to $1.2447, respectively. The yen was last roughly 0.1 per cent  higher at 133.98 per US dollar.

US stocks settled with mild gains
Major US stock indices ended with fractional gains on Friday following mixed earnings results as investors assessed how conflicting economic data might influence interest rates and looked ahead to a massive week of corporate reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.34 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 33,808.96, the S&P 500 gained 3.73 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 4,133.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 12.90 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 12,072.46.

Q4 earnings today
IndusInd Bank, Persistent Systems, Bank of Maharashtra, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), Century Textiles & Industries, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Maharashtra Scooters, Mahindra Logistics, Madhya Bharat Agro Products, IIFL Securities, Nelco and Goyal Aluminiums are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
No stocks have been put under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Monday, April 24. 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 2,117 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 2,116.76 crore on Friday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1,632.66 crore. FPIs have bought Indian equities worth Rs 8,643 crore in April so far.

Rupee rises  11 paise against dollar
Rising for the second straight session, the rupee appreciated 11 paise to close at 82.06 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by softening crude oil prices in the international markets. However, a muted trend in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows capped the gains in the rupee, traders said.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

Also read: IndusInd Bank, Persistent Systems, Bank of Maharashtra to share Q4 results, declare dividend today

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