SGX Nifty down 86 points: Asian markets, dollar movement, crude, FPI flows & more

Domestic stock indices are set to open with big cuts on Friday, tracking negative global cues. Asian stocks opened lowers while US stocks saw a steep fall over amid a stubborn inflation data. Traders globally are expecting another round of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed in months to come. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Nifty can retest the breakout zone of 18,000-17,950, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan. This is where the key hourly moving averages are placed at, he said.

“The daily momentum indicator still has a positive crossover and thus incase of a dip it should be bought into and the strategy to trade would be to buy on dip near the support zone 18,000-17,950," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 86 points, or 0.48 per cent, higher at 17,982, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian shares mostly lower
Asian shares opened mostly lower on Friday, as the inflation data from the US spooked investors globally and fuelled the expectations of aggressive Fed rate hikes. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.57 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.53 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 declined 0.41 per cent; New Zealand's DJ shed 0.59 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.46 per cent; and Korea’s Kospi tanked 0.59 per cent. China's Shanghai added 0.21 per cent.

Oil prices fall in early trade
Oil prices slid on Friday and were on track for weekly losses as strong US economic data heightened concern that the Federal Reserve will continue tight monetary policy to tackle inflation, which could hit fuel demand even as crude stockpiles grow. Brent crude futures dropped 49 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $84.65 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures shed 46 cents, also a 0.6 per cent loss, to $78.03.

Dollar edges higher
The dollar rode US Treasury yields higher on Friday and was eyeing a third straight week of gains, as a bout of resilient economic data out of the United States raised market expectations that more interest rate hikes were in the offing. The US dollar index was last 0.09 per cent higher at 104.20. The dollar was last 0.25 per cent higher against the Japanese yen at 134.29. Sterling knocked to a fresh six-week low of $1.1957, while the euro fell 0.15 per cent to $1.0657.

US stocks end lower
Wall Street shares ended sharply lower on Thursday after unexpectedly strong inflation data and a drop in weekly jobless claims added to fears that the US Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates to tame high prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 431.2 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 33,696.85, the S&P 500 lost 57.19 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 4,090.41, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 214.76 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 11,855.83.

Stocks in F&O ban
Four stocks- Ambuja Cements, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL)- are retained under F&O ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, February 17. 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 1,571 crore
Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1570.62 on Wednesday. Similarly, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also turned buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 1,577.27 crore.

Rupee jumps 15 paise against dollar
The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to close at 82.68 against the US currency on Thursday amid unabated foreign fund inflow and positive trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said upbeat domestic trade deficit data and foreign fund inflows supported investor sentiments.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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