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

Mumbai, November 3: Gift Nifty futures point to a flat opening for the Sensex and Nifty 50 on Wednesday, with the near-month contract at a discount of about 36 points to the Nifty’s close. Indian benchmarks extended their winning streak to a fourth session on Tuesday, with the Sensex up 1.62 per cent and the Nifty 1.58 per cent, led by FMCG, realty, private bank and auto stocks. 

The near-month November Gift Nifty contract was trading at 23,775.00 in late afternoon trade, up 15 points or 0.06 per cent from its previous close. Against the Nifty 50’s close of 23,810.85, the contract is at a discount of 35.85 points, or 0.15 per cent. The December contract was unchanged at 23,868.50, a premium of 57.65 points, or 0.24 per cent. 

The November contract opened at 23,554, dipped to a low of 23,505.50 in early trade and climbed from mid-morning to touch a high of 23,802. 

The muted signal suggests a pause after a four-day run of about 5 per cent. On Wednesday, traders will track Brent crude, developments in the Iran war and the outcome of the US midterm elections held on November 3. 

Tuesday’s Close 

Indian equity benchmarks extended their rally on Tuesday, with the Nifty 50 reclaiming the 23,800 mark and the Sensex ending at a near two-month high. The Sensex rose 1,225.07 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 76,917.85, while the Nifty 50 advanced 370.05 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 23,810.85. The benchmarks have gained about 5 per cent over the four sessions. 

Market breadth was positive, with 2,362 shares advancing, 1,862 declining and 156 unchanged on the BSE. The Nifty Midcap index gained 0.8 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap index 0.3 per cent. Nifty FMCG rose 2.5 per cent, Nifty Realty 2.10 per cent, Nifty Private Bank 1.98 per cent and Nifty Auto 1.7 per cent, while Nifty PSU Bank fell 1.4 per cent and Nifty Energy 0.4 per cent. 

BSE Limited led the Nifty 50 gainers, followed by Tata Consumer Products, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and Nestle India. Infosys, State Bank of India, ONGC, Power Grid Corporation and Adani Enterprises were the major laggards. Marico surged 10 per cent and KRBL 10.6 per cent after earnings, while Trident rose 7 per cent and VRL Logistics 6 per cent. 

Asian Stocks 

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, with Taiwan and South Korea leading the losses. Taiwan’s benchmark fell 3.59 per cent to 43,307.54 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.59 per cent to 5,648.79. Shenzhen lost 1.21 per cent to 10,876.99, Thailand’s SET fell 1.07 per cent to 1,491.01, Shanghai declined 0.82 per cent to 3,608.10 and Singapore’s Straits Times eased 0.65 per cent to 5,269.29. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.57 per cent to 23,525.97, Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.34 per cent to 8,886.80 and Malaysia added 0.14 per cent to 1,621.85. Japan’s Nikkei was unchanged at 63,081.86 as Tokyo markets were closed for the Culture Day holiday. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as reports of fresh US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island kept geopolitical risks in focus. Brent crude gained USD 1.30, or 1.24 per cent, to USD 106.07 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose USD 1.43, or 1.48 per cent, to USD 97.89. On delayed data, Murban crude fell USD 3.14, or 2.98 per cent, to USD 102.16, and the Opec basket dropped USD 12.33, or 10.64 per cent, to USD 103.53. Brent had fallen about 7 per cent in the previous session to around USD 105 on hopes of an end to the US-Israeli war on Iran, and it remains about 10 per cent below Friday’s six-month high of USD 118. 

Sources

•  nseix.com
• Gift Nifty
• NSE data
• BSE data
• Reuters
• CNBC,
• OilPrice.com