Gift Nifty Points to Positive Start for Sensex, Nifty on Monday

Mumbai, Oct 1: Indian stocks are likely to open in positive territory on Monday, October 5. Crude oil prices remain high, and there has been no breakthrough in the US-Iran war so far, which has caused Indian markets to fall over the past week. Indian stock exchanges will remain closed on Friday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

Iran claims to have received a response from the United States to its most recent proposal to re-establish the failed ceasefire agreement. This comes after US President Donald Trump stated that he had rejected Iran’s offer. No breakthrough on reopening the Strait of Hormuz has occurred since the war began eight months ago. 

GIFT Nifty Indicates Monday’s Market Opening 

GIFT Nifty for the October expiry (27th) traded at 22,555.50 on Thursday, up 64.50 points or 0.29%. It ranged from a high of 22,662 to a low of 22,278 during the day, with an opening value of 22,632.50. The next expiry, GIFT Nifty (November), was also trading higher at 22,575.50. 

GIFT Nifty was 133.55 points above Thursday’s closing price of the Nifty, suggesting that Indian markets may open around 0.6% higher. However, large intraday movements could indicate that the market may move in either direction. 

Asian Stocks End Mixed 

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, which jumped 2,203 points, or 3.30 per cent, to 68,956.72, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.95 per cent to 6,971.35. Taiwan’s benchmark rose 0.86 per cent to 48,353.49. Australia’s ASX 200 was the biggest laggard, falling 1.99 per cent to 8,614.40, while Malaysia’s benchmark lost 1.26 per cent to 1,630.36 and Singapore’s Straits Times slipped 0.14 per cent to 5,667.67. Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen were shut for the National Day holiday, leaving the Hang Seng at 24,613.27 and the Shanghai Composite at 3,842.20 unchanged from their previous closes. 

Brent Climbs Back Near 100 Dollars 

Crude oil prices rose in delayed trade on Thursday, with Brent crude gaining 1.87 dollars, or 1.91 per cent, to 99.90 dollars a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate added 1.21 dollars, or 1.34 per cent, to 91.63 dollars. Murban crude jumped 5.58 dollars, or 5.46 per cent, to 107.83 dollars, even as natural gas fell 2.35 per cent to 2.955 dollars. Elevated crude remains a concern for India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, given the pressure on the import bill and inflation. 

Iran Talks Hinge on Sequencing 

Qatari mediators shuttled between US and Iranian envoys in New York last week, and an official briefed on the talks said the sides largely agree on the steps needed but disagree on their order. Iran’s proposal would see Washington lift its blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, a plan Trump said on Sunday he had rejected, although Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received no formal rejection. Flows of crude, refined products and gas through the strait remain substantially disrupted, with two ships reported hit by projectiles on Tuesday. Washington’s pullout from Iraq, which Tehran views as a victory for its allied armed groups, adds to the uncertainty. 

Sensex, Nifty Extend Losing Streak 

Indian equity benchmarks extended their losing streak to an eighth consecutive week on Thursday, the longest such run in 25 years, as persistent foreign selling, elevated crude oil prices and a surge in global bond yields weighed on sentiment. The Sensex fell 570.59 points, or 0.79 per cent, to close at 71,909.70, while the Nifty declined 198.50 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 22,421.95. The Nifty lost 3.1 per cent this week and the Sensex 2.7 per cent, their steepest weekly declines in more than six and four months respectively, taking losses over the eight-week run to 8.7 per cent and 8.4 per cent. 

Market breadth stayed firmly negative, with 2,916 stocks declining against 1,306 advancing and 191 unchanged, while the Nifty Midcap index fell 1.1 per cent. Auto, media, FMCG, infrastructure, metal, consumer durables and realty indices fell between 2 and 3 per cent, while energy, pharma, PSU bank and oil and gas indices lost more than 1 per cent each. The Nifty IT index bucked the trend, gaining 2.2 per cent, as softer-than-expected US inflation data reduced expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike in October; it was the only major sector with a weekly gain, of 0.5 per cent.

Source

• nseix.com