Gift Nifty Signals Higher Open as Asia Rises

Mumbai, November 9: Gift Nifty futures point to a gap-up opening for the Sensex and Nifty 50 on Monday, with the contract at a premium of about 76 points to the Nifty’s close in Sunday’s Muhurat session.Asian stocks are higher, oil is mixed and Wall Street ended Friday with divergent moves.

Gift Nifty futures were at 25,062.50 at 8:01 am IST on Monday, up 72.50 points, or 0.29 per cent, from the previous close of 24,990.00. Against the Nifty 50’s Sunday close of 24,986.40, that is a premium of 76.10 points, or 0.30 per cent. 

The Nifty 50 fell 43.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 24,986.40 in Sunday’s special Diwali session, snapping a seven-day rally. 

Asian stocks are higher on Monday morning, with Taiwan up 5.90 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei up 3.44 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.81 per cent. 

Oil is divergent, with Brent crude down 0.25 per cent at USD 98.07 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up 0.18 per cent at USD 90.99. Wall Street ended mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.31 per cent and the Dow down 0.46 per cent. 

US President Donald Trump said it is highly unlikely he will order fresh attacks on Iran if talks progress, CNN reported. Exchanges stay closed on Tuesday for Diwali-Balipratipada. 

Oil Prices 

Brent crude fell USD 0.25, or 0.25 per cent, to USD 98.07 a barrel, while WTI rose USD 0.16, or 0.18 per cent, to USD 90.99. Murban crude was quoted at USD 99.17, up USD 3.28, or 3.42 per cent, on Friday’s data. The moves are divergent, but Brent is still about 17 per cent below the six-month high of USD 118, which helps India, a major crude importer, by easing the import bill, inflation and pressure on the rupee. 

Asian Stocks 

Asian stocks rose on Monday morning after Friday’s sharp sell-off, led by technology-heavy markets. Taiwan jumped 5.90 per cent to 42,044.46, Japan’s Nikkei gained 3.44 per cent to 59,411.34 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.81 per cent to 5,151.43. Shenzhen rose 0.68 per cent to 11,251.92, Shanghai gained 0.67 per cent to 3,673.50 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.52 per cent to 24,609.54. New Zealand’s NZX 50 slipped 0.12 per cent to 13,981.40 and Australia’s ASX 200 eased 0.04 per cent to 9,017.30. 

US Markets 

Wall Street ended mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 23.13 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 7,376.86 and the Nasdaq 100 up 1.35 per cent at 26,989.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 237.33 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 51,285.73, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.89 per cent. The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, fell 9.01 per cent to 25.64 after surging on Thursday. 

Iran War 

Trump said on Sunday it is highly unlikely he will order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progress, CNN reported. He said it depends on whether Iran signs a very strong agreement, and added that the US had identified potential infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges that could be knocked down in an hour. Separately, Iraq has reached understandings with the US to allow its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz via a shipping lane near Oman, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al Jazeera. He said Iraq’s losses from the war and export disruptions had reached USD 60 billion. 

Sunday’s Diwali Muhurat Close 

The Sensex dipped 28.62 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 80,999.40 in the special Diwali session on Sunday after a high of 81,442.11, while the Nifty 50 declined 43.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 24,986.40 as investors booked profits after a seven-day rally. On Friday, the last session of Samvat 2082, the Sensex jumped 1,718.01 points, or 2.17 per cent, to 81,028.02 and the Nifty gained 493.75 points, or 2.01 per cent, to 25,030.35, both at the day’s high. In seven sessions, the Sensex surged 7,781.99 points, or 10.62 per cent, and the Nifty rallied 2,331.50 points, or 10.27 per cent, while foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 13,749.82 crore on Friday. The BSE SmallCap Select index rose 1.18 per cent and the MidCap Select index 0.22 per cent in the Muhurat session. 

Sources

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