Gift Nifty Points to Flat to Weak Opening for Sensex, Nifty on Friday

Mumbai, Oct 8: Gift Nifty suggests that Indian benchmark indices could open flat to slightly lower on Friday, after Thursday’s selloff dragged the Sensex to a 32-month low and the Nifty below 22,250. The RBI’s rate hike, rising crude and relentless foreign selling continue to weigh on sentiment. 

The near-month contract stood at 22,215.00 on Thursday, down 40 points, or 0.18 per cent, from its previous closing price of 22,255. This is about 17 points lower than the Nifty 50’s Thursday close of 22,231.80. The market could therefore open with a slight bearish bias after the day’s steep fall. 

The contract opened at 22,579.50 and moved between a high of 22,624.50 and a low of 22,205.50, a range of 419 points. It slid steadily after early trade, with a sharp leg lower before noon, and was about 365 points below its opening level at the last reading. The November contract stood at 22,332.50, down 22 points, or 0.1 per cent. 

Rate Hike, FPI Selling and Iran Risk Weigh 

The RBI on Wednesday raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent, its first hike in nearly four years, and shifted its stance from neutral to calibrated tightening. It cited inflation risks from higher oil prices, with Governor Sanjay Malhotra saying the outlook was “no longer benign”. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold Indian equities worth Rs 6,121 crore on Wednesday, extending their selling streak to nine consecutive sessions. Axios reported that the Pentagon has told U.S. Central Command to finalise preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran, although President Donald Trump has made no final decision. 

Asian Markets 

Asian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday, with New Zealand’s NZX 50 the only gainer, up 0.06 per cent at 13,691.85. Singapore’s Straits Times fell 3.49 per cent to 5,412.96 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.62 per cent to 6,625.93. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.42 per cent to 69,042.11, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.43 per cent to 23,785.79 and Taiwan’s index declined 0.99 per cent to 49,313.44. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.79 per cent to 3,811.90 and the Shenzhen index lost 2.07 per cent to 12,620.90, while Australia’s ASX 200 shed 0.77 per cent to 8,660.90, Thailand’s SET fell 0.88 per cent to 1,570.61 and Malaysia’s index lost 0.67 per cent to 1,601.01. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices surged on Thursday, extending Wednesday’s gains, with Brent crude up 4.98 per cent at $105.19 a barrel and WTI crude up 5.06 per cent at $92.75. Murban crude, the benchmark most relevant to Asian buyers, gained 3.79 per cent to $110.73, while Mars crude jumped 10.47 per cent to $130.90. Heating oil rose 4.83 per cent to $4.846 and gasoline gained 3.13 per cent to $3.335. The rally comes amid concerns over Middle East supplies and attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, after Axios reported that a resumed war would likely include bombing of Iranian energy targets. 

Market Wrap-Up 

Indian equity benchmarks tumbled on Thursday, extending their losses from the previous session as selling spread across sectors and market capitalisation segments, with the Sensex falling 1,045.46 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 71,593.24 and the Nifty 50 declining 371.25 points, or 1.64 per cent, to 22,231.80. Breadth was decisively negative, with 3,280 shares declining, 951 advancing and 180 unchanged, while the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices shed more than 2 per cent each. All major sectoral indices ended lower, with Nifty Auto, Energy, FMCG, Infrastructure, Media, Metal, Oil & Gas, Pharma and Realty falling between 2 per cent and 3 per cent. Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT) was the biggest Nifty 50 loser, followed by JSW Steel (JSWSTEEL), Max Healthcare (MAXHEALTH), ITC (ITC) and InterGlobe Aviation (INDIGO), while heavyweights Reliance Industries (RELIANCE) and ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK) fell 2.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively. Infosys (INFY), Axis Bank (AXISBANK) and HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) were among the few gainers, but their gains could not offset the broader decline. 

Sources

•  Gift Nifty data
• NSE
• BSE
• www.cnbc.com
• www.oilprice.com
• Axios