Gift Nifty Points to Flat Open for Sensex, Nifty on Wednesday

Mumbai, October 19:Tuesday is a trading holiday for Indian equity markets, which will reopen on Wednesday, with Gift Nifty futures pointing to a flat opening almost level with Monday’s close. The signal comes after the Sensex and Nifty 50 snapped a two-day rally, dragged down by private bank stocks and weak global cues. Friday’s sharp fall on Wall Street, Brent crude near USD 108 per barrel and the stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz remain the key triggers for Wednesday’s opening session.

Gift Nifty Levels

Gift Nifty futures for the near-month October 27 contract were trading at 22,887.00, down 3.50 points or 0.02 per cent, in late afternoon trade on Monday. That is 1.95 points below the Nifty 50’s closing level of 22,888.95, which points to a flat opening on Wednesday. The contract opened at 23,174.50, which was also its high for the day, but a steady slide through the session dragged it to a low of 22,859.00, a fall of 315.50 points from the peak. The November 23 contract was quoted at 22,962.00, down 7.50 points or 0.03 per cent.

Asian Stocks

Asian markets ended mixed on Monday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading the gains. The Kospi jumped 1.76 per cent, or 99.96 points, to 5,768.01, while China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.39 per cent, or 14.64 points, to 3,730.92. In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.62 per cent, or 407.59 points, to 64,916.70. Markets in Europe were trading in negative territory.

Oil Prices

Brent crude fell 1.34 per cent, or USD 1.47, to USD 108.39 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate lost 0.42 per cent, or USD 0.43, to USD 100.98 per barrel, according to delayed OilPrice.com data. The gap between the two benchmarks stood at USD 7.41 per barrel. Murban crude dropped 3.76 per cent to USD 109.10 and the OPEC basket slipped 3.23 per cent to USD 108.00. For India, which imports most of its crude needs, oil at these levels keeps pressure on inflation, the import bill and the rupee.

Iran War

Iran said on Sunday that its offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days remains on the table, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi saying the waterway could reopen within six days if Washington accepts Tehran’s conditions, which include lifting the US blockade on its ports and sanctions on its oil exports, and ending hostilities on all regional fronts. Talks have stalled, however, as the US insists on addressing Iran’s nuclear programme from the outset, with Vice President JD Vance demanding a meaningful cut in Tehran’s uranium enrichment capacity. Before the eight-month war, the strait carried about a fifth of the global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Monday’s Close

The Sensex and Nifty 50 ended sharply lower on Monday, snapping a two-day rally, as selling in private banks and weak global trends weighed on sentiment. The 30-share Sensex tumbled 876.37 points, or 1.17 per cent, to settle at 73,852.90, after falling as much as 1,020.73 points, or 1.36 per cent, to an intraday low of 73,708.54. The Nifty 50 dropped 257.20 points, or 1.11 per cent, to end at 22,888.95.

Axis Bank (AXISBANK) declined 3.85 per cent despite a 39.4 per cent rise in September quarter consolidated net profit to Rs 7,704.67 crore, while HDFC Bank (HDFCBANK) fell over 2 per cent after its quarterly earnings failed to cheer investors. UltraTech Cement (ULTRACEMCO), Infosys (INFY), Bajaj Finance (BAJFINANCE), Trent (TRENT) and NTPC (NTPC) were also among the laggards. Adani Ports (ADANIPORTS), State Bank of India (SBIN), Larsen & Toubro (LT), InterGlobe Aviation (INDIGO) and Maruti Suzuki India (MARUTI) were the gainers.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said private banks stayed under pressure over margin trends after their earnings, while PSU banks bucked the weakness on expectations of resilient margins and asset quality. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Friday after days of selling, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,165.92 crore.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.14 per cent to 26,140.03 on Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.09 per cent to 7,659.44 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.34 per cent to 52,002.41.

Sources:

• Gift Nifty and NSE data
• BSE
• Reuters
• CNBC
• OilPrice.com