Gift Nifty Points to Muted Open for Sensex, Nifty on Thursday

Mumbai, Oct 8: Indian markets are expected to see a flat opening in today’s session, with Gift Nifty indicating a muted start following the recent rate hike by the RBI. Asian and US markets have also given weak signals. Crude oil prices are rising and are currently trading above $102 a barrel. The possibility of the US preparing to strike Iran again could be another cause for concern. 

Indian indices closed in the red on Wednesday after the RBI hiked the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50 per cent and changed its stance from neutral to calibrated tightening. This was the first rate hike since February 2023, making investors wary of taking loans. However, the central bank raised its projection for GDP growth in the current fiscal year to 7.1 per cent. 

Crude oil prices, which the RBI highlighted as a potential risk to inflation, are continuing to rise. Wall Street closed in the red, while Asian markets are also trading lower in the morning session. Traders are therefore likely to remain cautious while picking stocks. 

Asian Markets Gift Nifty Indicating Flat Open 

Gift Nifty futures for the October 27 expiry were trading at 22,616.00 as of 8:03 am IST on Thursday. The contract was up 58 points, or 0.26 per cent, from its previous close of 22,558. This is around 13 points above the Nifty 50 index’s closing level of 22,603.05 on Wednesday. 

Asian Markets 

Asian markets traded mostly lower on Thursday morning. Singapore’s Straits Times fell 2.54 per cent to 5,466.08, Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.95 per cent to 69,373.40, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.66 per cent to 6,759.08 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.17 per cent to 24,088.31. Taiwan’s index declined 0.57 per cent, Australia’s ASX 200 dropped 0.51 per cent and Malaysia’s index fell 0.62 per cent. However, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.12 per cent to 3,846.91, while Thailand’s SET was unchanged at 1,584.63. 

US Markets 

Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday. The Russell 2000 fell 1.31 per cent to 2,793.20, the NYSE Composite dropped 0.92 per cent to 23,701.92, the Dow Jones Transportation Average declined 0.88 per cent to 19,529.30 and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.21 per cent to 31,160.08. The utilities index was the lone gainer, up 0.23 per cent at 1,049.64. 

Oil Prices 

Crude oil prices extended gains on Thursday. Brent crude rose 1.85 per cent, or 1.85 dollars, to 102.05 dollars a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.56 per cent to 89.66 dollars and Murban crude added 0.47 per cent to 106.69 dollars. Concerns over a possible resumption of US strikes on Iran are keeping the market on edge, and higher oil remains a worry for India, a large importer of crude. 

Iran War 

The Pentagon has told US Central Command to finish preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran, US officials told Axios, though no date has been set and President Donald Trump has made no final decision. US and Israeli sources said strikes could come before the US midterm elections and would be expected to include heavy bombing of Iranian energy, infrastructure and nuclear targets. Negotiations have made no progress, with Qatari mediators still awaiting Iran’s response to a US counterproposal that included demands for nuclear concessions. One Israeli official said the chances of a resumption before the elections are not high but not ruled out, and rise significantly after the midterms. 

Market Wrap-Up 

The Sensex and Nifty snapped a two-session winning run on Wednesday, with the Sensex down 429.11 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 72,638.70 and the Nifty 50 down 173.05 points, or 0.76 per cent, at 22,603.05. The fall followed the RBI’s 25 basis point repo rate hike to 5.50 per cent and the shift in stance to calibrated tightening, while the Nifty Metal index fell 2.3 per cent. Titan Company (TITAN) was the biggest Nifty loser, down 3.8 per cent, followed by Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT), Hindalco Industries (HINDALCO), JSW Steel (JSWSTEEL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL). Kotak Mahindra Bank (KOTAKBANK) led the gainers, followed by BSE (BSE), Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL), ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK) and Coal India (COALINDIA). 

Sources

•  Gift Nifty data
• NSE
• BSE