Gift Nifty Points to Muted-to-Positive Open for Sensex, Nifty on Friday

Mumbai, October 16: Indian equity markets are set for a muted-to-positive open on Friday, with Gift Nifty futures pointing to a flat to marginally positive start. The signal follows a sharp rally on Thursday in which the Sensex jumped 2.11 per cent and the Nifty 50 gained 1.66 per cent, their biggest single-day gains in four months. 

Easing but still elevated crude oil prices and the situation in the Gulf are the key cues for the session. Brent crude has slipped 0.42 per cent but remains above USD 105 per barrel, while a Reuters investigation found that Iran and its allies have struck Gulf infrastructure at least 135 times since the war began. 

Global cues are positive, with Asian markets rebounding after Thursday’s sell-off and Wall Street closing higher overnight, led by a 1.08 per cent gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 

Gift Nifty Levels 

Gift Nifty futures for the October 27 contract were trading at 23,071.50 at 8:17 am IST on Friday, down 41.50 points, or 0.18 per cent, from the previous close of 23,113.00. That is 74.15 points, or about 0.32 per cent, above the Nifty 50’s closing level of 22,997.35, which indicates a muted start for the domestic benchmarks. The Nifty 50 ended Thursday just 2.65 points below the 23,000 mark. 

Iran War 

Iran and the groups it arms have launched at least 135 drone and missile attacks on at least 84 infrastructure sites across the Gulf since the US and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28, a Reuters investigation found. The strikes have disabled critical equipment, including oil-routing systems at the UAE’s Fujairah port, which was hit at least 19 times, and two cold boxes at Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility. A September 10 attack on the Saudi East-West Pipeline suspended crude flows there, threatening up to 4 per cent of global oil supply, while the Ras Laffan strikes threatened nearly 20 per cent of world LNG flows. Airports have also been targeted, with an October 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, claimed by the Iran-backed Houthis, killing at least 13 people. 

Asian Stocks 

Asian markets rebounded on Friday morning after Thursday’s sharp sell-off, with South Korea’s Kospi jumping 3.14 per cent, or 174.35 points, to 5,728.57 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 1.75 per cent, or 1,124.73 points, to 65,550.68. Taiwan’s index rose 1.15 per cent to 47,510.54 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.3 per cent to 24,376.00. Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.82 per cent to 5,447.93, Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.9 per cent to 8,798.60 and the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.8 per cent to 3,736.96. New Zealand’s NZX 50 fell 0.61 per cent to 13,748.37 and Malaysia’s index lost 0.58 per cent to 1,614.25, making them the main decliners. 

US Markets 

Wall Street ended higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.08 per cent, or 556.21 points, to 52,177.69 and the S&P 500 rising 0.33 per cent to 7,744.06. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.08 per cent to 26,713.03, while the NYSE Composite advanced 0.84 per cent to 24,066.65, the Russell 2000 climbed 1.38 per cent to 2,767.27. The Nasdaq 100 was the only decliner, slipping 0.05 per cent to 29,935.60. 

Oil Prices 

Brent crude eased 0.42 per cent, or USD 0.44, to USD 105.48 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.67 per cent, or USD 0.66, to USD 97.31 per barrel, according to OilPrice.com data on a short delay. Murban crude slipped 0.87 per cent to USD 109.97. With Brent still well above USD 100, concerns over India’s import bill, inflation and the rupee remain in focus. 

Thursday’s Close 

The Sensex surged 1,533.72 points, or 2.11 per cent, to settle at 74,315.61 on Thursday, while the Nifty 50 advanced 374.65 points, or 1.66 per cent, to end at 22,997.35, their biggest single-day gains in four months. Tech Mahindra (TECHM), ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK), Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) and HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) were among the biggest gainers on the Nifty 50, while Nestle India (NESTLEIND), Trent (TRENT) and Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT) were the major laggards. Auto, IT, infrastructure, oil and gas, private bank and realty stocks advanced between 1 per cent and 1.8 per cent, while the Nifty Media and PSU Bank indices fell more than 1 per cent each. Market breadth remained negative, with 2,606 shares declining against 1,592 advancing and 162 unchanged. 

Sources

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