Gift Nifty Signals Muted-to-Higher Open for Sensex, Nifty As Asia Slides. Brent Tops $116; ECB Pauses Rates

Mumbai, Oct 30: Indian equity markets are set for a higher open on Friday even as Asian stocks slide and Brent crude tops $116 a barrel.

Investors are waiting for the Bank of Japan’s rate decision, due shortly. The European Central Bank has already kept interest rates unchanged. 

Gift Nifty futures for the November 23 contract traded at 23,010.00 at 8.11 am, down 49 points or 0.21 per cent from the previous close of 23,059.00. 

The level is about 73 points, or 0.32 per cent, above the Nifty 50’s Thursday close of 22,936.75. That points to a higher start.

A sell-off in US technology shares has hit Asia hard. Disappointing earnings from Alphabet, Amazon and Intel deepened doubts over high valuations and heavy cash burn, pulling the Nasdaq down 1.38 per cent. 

Domestic sentiment has some support after Thursday’s rebound, helped by the US Federal Reserve holding rates and upbeat corporate earnings. Elevated crude and the Iran conflict remain the main risks for the market, with foreign investment flows in focus. 

Oil prices 

Brent crude rose 1.66 dollars, or 1.44 per cent, to USD 116.54 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.53 dollars, or 1.50 per cent, to USD 103.53. Murban crude eased 0.39 per cent to USD 114.76, and the Opec basket slipped 0.42 per cent to USD 114.73. Prices remain elevated because the Strait of Hormuz is still shut, and QatarEnergy said it is buying long-term LNG from the US and other producers to hedge against future disruptions. 

Asian markets fall on Friday morning 

South Korea’s Kospi plunged 5.01 per cent to 5,640.46, and Taiwan’s benchmark lost 3.03 per cent to 44,962.42. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.58 per cent to 62,993.86 as the technology sell-off on Wall Street spread across the region. China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.79 per cent to 3,622.54 and the Shenzhen index shed 1.23 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend with a gain of 1 per cent to 23,187.31, and Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.43 per cent to 8,930.20, and New Zealand’s NZX 50 added 0.31 per cent. 

Wall Street ends lower on tech rout 

The Nasdaq Composite and the Nasdaq 100 both fell 1.38 per cent, to 26,184.72 and 29,402.51, while the S&P 500 lost 0.30 per cent to 7,720.39 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.25 per cent to 52,342.56. Weak quarterly numbers from Alphabet, Amazon and Intel dragged the technology heavyweights lower. Outside tech, the NYSE Composite gained 1.05 per cent, the Russell 2000 added 1.01 per cent, and the Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 0.96 per cent, while the VIX volatility index climbed 1.71 per cent to 17.20. 

Iran war: Vance letter and Tehran’s conditions 

US President Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance’s outreach to Iran was about helping the country get medical supplies, after the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Vance had written to Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei to revive peace talks. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran has received the letter but not responded, adding that any position contradicting its framework is unacceptable. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said progress is possible only if Iran’s seven conditions are met, including lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on its oil exports before the Strait of Hormuz reopens. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Admiral Brad Cooper, the US military’s top officer for the Middle East, briefed Trump on military options, a report Reuters could not independently verify. 

Sensex and Nifty rebound on Thursday 

The BSE Sensex jumped 905.01 points, or 1.24 per cent, to close at 74,151.04, and the NSE Nifty 50 gained 237.90 points, or 1.05 per cent, to settle at 22,936.75. The rebound came after both benchmarks had fallen in six of the previous eight sessions on rising oil prices. Breadth was positive, with 2,443 stocks advancing, 1,615 declining and 127 unchanged, while the Nifty midcap and smallcap indices each rose about 1 per cent. Adani Ports surged 6.3 per cent to a near four-month high on strong quarterly results, and Adani Enterprises gained 5.2 per cent, with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid Corporation and Eternal also among the top gainers, while Trent, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki were among the laggards. 

Source

•  nseindia.com