Gift Nifty Points to Higher Opening for Sensex, Nifty on Friday

Mumbai, Oct 9: Gift Nifty signals a higher opening for Indian equities on Friday. 

Oil is lower but still elevated. Brent crude fell 0.98 per cent to 103.26 dollars a barrel, above 100 dollars, which keeps India’s import bill and inflation risks in play. 

President Donald Trump said the US will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, citing productive talks. That lowers near-term escalation risk, though Tehran says it will not give up enrichment. 

Earnings season has started. TCS, the first large company to report, posted a 15 per cent jump in September-quarter net profit to Rs 13,884 crore. 

Friday’s open follows a sharp fall: the Sensex lost 1,045.46 points and the Nifty 371.25 points on Thursday. Asian markets are mixed this morning and Wall Street’s tech indices fell sharply overnight, which may cap early gains. 

Gift Nifty Signals a Higher Start 

Gift Nifty futures for the October 27 contract were at 22,368.00 at 8:03 am IST on Friday, up 4.50 points, or 0.02 per cent, implying a previous close of 22,363.50. The level is about 136 points, or 0.61 per cent, above the Nifty 50’s Thursday close of 22,231.80 

Iran War 

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, adding that talks with Tehran are productive, according to Reuters. The six-month-old war, which began in February, has hurt Trump’s approval ratings, with 60 per cent of Americans disapproving of his handling of it, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Iranian state media said Tehran will not abandon enrichment or hand over its uranium stockpile, days after US Vice President JD Vance demanded meaningful cuts. The US and Iran have exchanged proposals to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump has rejected Tehran’s latest offer. 

Oil Prices 

Crude oil prices eased in early trade but remain elevated. Brent crude declined 0.98 per cent to 103.26 dollars a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.82 per cent to 90.74 dollars, while Murban crude bucked the trend with a 3.54 per cent rise to 110.47 dollars. Trump has said he expects oil prices to drop after the elections but has offered no detailed plan to exit the war. 

Asian Markets 

Asian markets were mixed on Friday morning. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.05 per cent to 24,036.14 and Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.47 per cent to 8,701.40. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.62 per cent to 6,625.93, China’s Shenzhen index dropped 2.16 per cent, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.02 per cent and Taiwan’s index slipped 0.99 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.83 per cent to 68,470.33. 

US Markets 

Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday. The Nasdaq fell 1.25 per cent to 27,193.34, and the S&P 500 declined 0.47 per cent to 7,765.36, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.10 per cent to 51,231.64. The transport index rose 1.43 per cent and the VIX, the fear gauge, rose 2.19 per cent to 15.41. 

Indian Markets on Thursday 

Indian equity benchmarks tumbled on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, with the Sensex down 1,045.46 points, or 1.44 per cent, at 71,593.24 and the Nifty 50 down 371.25 points, or 1.64 per cent, at 22,231.80. Breadth was decisively negative, with 3,280 shares declining, 951 advancing and 180 unchanged. All major sectoral indices ended lower, with Auto, Energy, FMCG, Metal, Pharma and Realty among those 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 Infosys (INFY), Axis Bank (AXISBANK) and HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) were among the few gainers. 

The country’s largest IT services company reported a 15 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 13,884 crore for the September quarter, against Rs 12,075 crore a year ago and Rs 13,349 crore in the June quarter. Revenue from operations rose 11.22 per cent to Rs 73,188 crore from Rs 65,799 crore a year ago and Rs 72,275 crore in the June quarter, while overall expenses rose to Rs 55,887 crore from Rs 49,463 crore a year ago. TCS added 4,258 employees on a net basis in the last three months, taking its staff strength to 5,98,056 as of September 30. 

Sources

• nseindia.com