Gift Nifty Points to Lower Open for Sensex, Nifty on Thursday as Asian Stocks Slide, Oil Climbs

Mumbai, October 22:Indian markets are set to open lower on Thursday, with Gift Nifty pointing to a weak start for the Sensex and Nifty 50. Falling Asian stocks and rising crude oil prices are weighing on sentiment.

The near-month October 27 Gift Nifty contract was trading at 22,650.50 at 7:39 am IST, down 97.50 points or 0.43 per cent from its previous close of 22,748.00.

The Nifty 50 ended Wednesday at 22,811.35. Against that close, Gift Nifty is at a discount of 160.85 points, or 0.71 per cent, which points to a lower start for the index.

Asian stocks traded lower on Thursday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.12 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi down 1.81 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.88 per cent.

Brent crude rose 1.42 per cent to USD 110.36 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.19 per cent to USD 98.31. Costlier crude is a key risk for India.

Iran War

Axios reported that dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew towards the Iranian border on Monday, a sortie more than 800 miles from Israel, citing Israeli and US officials. Israel described it as a training exercise meant to project power and deter Iran ahead of its October 27 elections, but some US sources felt Israel hoped Iran would fire on the aircraft and give it grounds to strike, a miscalculation that could reignite the war. Axios also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump in early October to launch a major new operation against Iran before the Israeli and US elections, but Trump decided against it. On Wednesday, Netanyahu said Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had allowed scientists to move towards a nuclear weapon, and that he had directed the Israeli military, the Mossad and security agencies to work towards toppling the regime in Tehran.

Asian Stocks

Asian markets were largely lower on Thursday morning, led by a 2.12 per cent fall in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which slipped 501.45 points to 23,150.42. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.81 per cent to 5,631.81 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.88 per cent to 64,054.52, while Australia’s ASX 200 eased 0.41 per cent to 8,795.00. Chinese markets were weaker, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.99 per cent at 3,676.32 and the Shenzhen index down 1.66 per cent at 11,510.35, while Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore’s Straits Times index were marginally lower. According to Bloomberg, Asian stocks faced downward pressure or traded mixed on lingering concerns over the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) spending, mixed megacap tech earnings and geopolitical uncertainty in the Gulf.

US Markets

US stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with every major index in the green. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05 per cent, or 278.04 points, to 26,702.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.58 per cent, or 44.60 points, to 7,757.17, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.69 per cent, or 360.21 points, to 52,856.09. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.13 per cent, the NYSE index rose 0.26 per cent and the Russell 2000 gained 0.27 per cent, while the VIX volatility index fell 3.64 per cent to 16.68.

Oil Prices

Oil prices rose on Thursday, with Brent crude up USD 1.54, or 1.42 per cent, at USD 110.36 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate gained USD 1.16, or 1.19 per cent, to USD 98.31, while Murban crude edged up 0.14 per cent to USD 110.19. Gasoline rose 0.87 per cent and heating oil gained 1.28 per cent, whereas natural gas slipped 0.54 per cent.

Wednesday’s Close

Indian benchmarks ended lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, with the Nifty 50 down 77.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 22,811.35 and the Sensex down 143.21 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 73,709.69. Both indices had gained about 1 per cent in early trade on IT stocks and Reliance Industries (RELIANCE) as the Jio Platforms IPO opened, but elevated crude prices and worries over their impact on the economy erased those gains. Breadth was weak, with 3,361 stocks declining on the NSE against 884 advancing and 157 unchanged, while the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices fell more than 2 per cent each. The Nifty IT index rose 2.9 per cent, the standout performer, with Infosys (INFY), Tech Mahindra (TECHM), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) among the gainers on the Nifty.

Sources:

• Gift Nifty and NSE data
• Axios, Bloomberg
• CNBC
• OilPrice.com