Gift Nifty Signals Muted-to-Positive Open for Sensex, Nifty on Friday as Asia Slides and Brent Climbs to $114

Mumbai, October 23:Gift Nifty is quoting above where the Nifty 50 closed on Thursday but below its own last settlement, a mixed signal that points to a muted-to-positive start for the Sensex and Nifty on Friday.

Asia is heading down again. The Kospi has lost 2.63 per cent and the Nikkei 225 has dropped 1.90 per cent.

Brent crude has reached USD 114.17 a barrel, its highest level since May.

The Iran war keeps spreading: Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia, an Aramco evacuation in Dhahran and a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy that US bases could face a wider response.

At home, the Sensex and Nifty 50 closed lower for a third straight session on Thursday, and the Nasdaq fell 2.60 per cent overnight.

Gift Nifty Levels

At 7:38 am IST the October 27 Gift Nifty contract stood at 22,824.00, which is 42.50 points, or 0.19 per cent, below its previous close of 22,866.50. Measured against the Nifty 50’s Thursday close of 22,687.65, the contract carries a premium of 136.35 points, or 0.60 per cent. That leaves the index poised to start above its last close, though the contract itself has been slipping.

Oil Prices

Brent crude stood at USD 114.17 per barrel on Friday morning, up USD 1.00 or 0.88 per cent, a day after a jump of nearly 4 per cent lifted it past USD 113 to its highest level since May, NBC News said. West Texas Intermediate added 0.99 per cent to USD 100.62, while Murban crude surged USD 4.20, or 3.81 per cent, to USD 114.39. NBC News tied the move to reports that the US and Israel have drawn up plans for fresh strikes on Iran after the November midterms, and said the higher energy bill revived inflation and rate worries.

Asian Stocks

Asian stocks fell for another session on Friday morning, with South Korea’s Kospi dropping 2.63 per cent, or 145.75 points, to 5,388.02 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 shedding 1.90 per cent, or 1,193.02 points, to 61,714.82. The Shenzhen index lost 1.89 per cent to 11,143.20 and the Shanghai Composite slipped 1.75 per cent to 3,594.18, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down a smaller 0.53 per cent at 22,813.47. Australia’s ASX 200 declined 0.43 per cent to 8,755.40 and Singapore’s Straits Times index lost 0.62 per cent to 5,381.76, whereas Malaysia edged up 0.07 per cent. The pressure came from a continuing sell-off in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) shares, higher oil prices and caution ahead of central bank decisions, with expectations of a hawkish stance, or even rate hikes, from the Bank of Japan adding to the strain.

US Markets

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday as a sell-off in technology shares hit the Nasdaq Composite, which fell 2.60 per cent, or 694.00 points, to 26,008.86, and the S&P 500, which lost 1.21 per cent, or 93.74 points, to 7,663.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was almost flat, up 0.02 per cent at 52,867.98, while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.90 per cent to 28,958.69. Utilities rose 2.19 per cent and transports 1.87 per cent, but the VIX volatility index jumped 14.09 per cent to 19.03.

Iran War

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy said four vessels involved in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were hit and caught fire together, and three more struck mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, while warning the US military that further provocations could bring a wider response against its regional bases. Reuters reported that Saudi Aramco has asked staff to leave its Dhahran headquarters and work remotely as clashes with the Iran-aligned Houthis intensify, with the Saudi benchmark index falling 2.5 per cent after the news. The Houthis claimed attacks on Aramco facilities in Yanbu and on the defence ministry in Riyadh, which Saudi authorities did not confirm, while the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted drones over Riyadh and Medina. On Wednesday evening, a Houthi strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two people, a Saudi citizen and an Indian national, and wounded eight, though the aviation authority said flights had since resumed normally.

Thursday’s Close

The Sensex fell 460.30 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 73,249.39 on Thursday, and the Nifty 50 lost 123.70 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 22,687.65, closing below 22,700 for a third straight losing session. Surging crude and Middle East tension stoked inflation worries. IT, FMCG and energy stocks led the decline, with the Nifty FMCG index down 1.41 per cent and the Nifty IT and Nifty Energy indices down 1.05 per cent each, while the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.87 per cent and 1.14 per cent. Breadth stayed negative, with 2,670 stocks declining against 1,323 advancing and 155 unchanged, and India VIX edged up 0.90 per cent to 15.82.

Sources:

• Gift Nifty and NSE data
• Reuters
• NBC News
• CNBC
• OilPrice.com