SGX Nifty up 4 points: Asian stocks, dollar movement, crude oil prices, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open on a muted note on Wednesday amid  mixed cues from global markets. US stocks settled mixed overnight while Asian markets recovered from early losses as the session progressed. Traders were keenly await US inflation data later in the day. Back home, the earning season will begin today as TCS and a few other companies announce their earnings for the March quarter. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has formed a bullish Golden Cross on the daily chart, with the 21-day EMA crossing above the 9 DEMA. The index witnessed a breakout above its falling channel pattern and prices have closed above the downward-sloping trend line, said Rohan Patil, Technical Analyst at Samco Securities.

"The overall trend remains in a bullish mode and any dip in the index will be an opportunity to enter fresh longs. The support for Nifty is placed at 17,500–17,450 levels while the resistance is capped at 17,900 level. In case the Nifty falls below 17,450 level, the 17,300 level will be the next support area," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a flat start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 3.50 points, or 0.02 per cent, higher at 17,790.50, hinting at a flat start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian shares opened mixed
Asian equities inched lower before turning mixed on Wednesday ahead of a crucial US inflation report that will likely influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path, with markets wagering another hike in interest rates at the central bank's next meeting. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.36 per cent. Japan's Nikkei jumped 0.58 per cent; China's Shanghai rose 0.51 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked 0.60 per cent while Korea's Kospi shed 0.11 per cent.

Oil prices drop marginally
Oil prices were little changed in early trading on Wednesday after industry data showed an unexpected build in US crude and gasoline inventories, offsetting concerns about tightening supply ahead of output cuts by OPEC producers. In a sign of market tightness, US crude futures have flipped into backwardation, with the front month contract trading 6 cents higher than the second month. Brent crude fell 5 cents at $85.57 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate fell 6 cents to $81.48 a barrel.

Dollar index edges lower
Dollar slipped on Wednesday ahead of a closely-watched inflation reading later in the day that will provide clues on the path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The dollar index , which measures the US currency against six rivals fell 0.05 per cent to 102.07. The euro was up 0.12 per cent at $1.0923, while sterling was last trading at $1.2431, up 0.06 per cent on the day. The yen strengthened 0.04 per cent to 133.63 per dollar.

Wall Street stocks settle mixed
Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, losing steam late in the session as investors awaited crucial inflation data and the unofficial kick-off of first-quarter reporting season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 98.27 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 33,684.79; the S&P 500 lost 0.17 points, essentially flat, at 4,108.94; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 52.48 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 12,031.88.

Q4 earnings today
Tata Consultancy Services, Anand Rathi Wealth, National Standard (India), Dharani Sugars & Chemicals and Sanathnagar Enterprises are among the companies which will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
One stock- Delta Corp- has been put under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Wednesday, April 12. 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 342.84 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 342.84 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of equities to the tune of Rs 264.02 crore.

Rupee falls 13 paise against dollar
The rupee depreciated 13 paise to close at 82.12 against the US currency on Tuesday as dollar demand from importers weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.96 against the dollar and finally ended the day at 82.12, 13 paise lower from its previous close.


Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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