SGX Nifty up 82 points: Asian stocks rally, crude prices rise, Dollar wallows & more

Domestic stock markets are likely to open higher on Friday, tracking firm global cues. Most Asian markets rallied in early trade on hopes of no further rate hikes by the US Fed and progress of debt ceiling. Back home, a positive GST collections data is likely to lift investor mood. Here's what you should know before the Opening Bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty has broke above the 18,000-18,400 range, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan. "The daily momentum indicator has a positive crossover and this dip should be used as a buying opportunity. Overall, we continue to maintain our positive outlook on the index for a target of 18,800 from a short-term perspective. In terms of levels, 18,460-18,420 shall act as the crucial support zone while the hurdle zone is placed at 18,600-18,660," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 81.5 points, or 0.44 per cent, lower at 18,645, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian stocks open sharply higher
Asian stocks surged on Friday amid progress on the bill to raise US debt ceiling and increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve might halt interest rate hike in its next meeting. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.43 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.80 per cent; China's Shanghai added 0.40 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng soared 2.43 per cent and South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.90 per cent.

Oil prices rise in early trade
Oil prices rose on Friday in early Asian trade as markets weighed the likelihood of price-supportive OPEC+ production cuts over the weekend amid positive sentiment over U.S. monetary policy and Washington's debt ceiling bill. Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.18 per cent to $74.41 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 15 cents, or 0.21 per cent, to $70.25 a barrel, following two consecutive days of sliding crude prices.

Dollar index nears one-week low
The US dollar wallowed near a one-week low versus major peers on Friday, on course for its worst week since late March, amid strengthening views that the Federal Reserve will forgo an interest rate hike this month. The euro was up 0.01 per cent to $1.0762. The Japanese yen weakened 0.11 per cent to 138.93 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2527, up 0.02 per cent on the day.

Wall Street settles higher
S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite surged to nine-month closing highs on Thursday as signs of slowing wage pressure raised hopes the Federal Reserve will pause hiking interest rates and investors cheered a vote in Congress to suspend the US debt ceiling.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.09 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 33,062.36, the S&P 500 gained 41.26 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 4,221.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 165.70 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 13,100.98.

Stocks in F&O ban
No stock has been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, June 2. 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 71 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 71.07 crore on Thursday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 488.93 crore.
 
Rupee rises 35 paise against dollar
The rupee appreciated by 35 paise to close at 82.40 against the US dollar on Thursday, as positive macroeconomic data strengthened investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.54 against the US dollar and witnessed an intra-day high of 82.36 and a low of 82.54.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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