The Indian stock market is expected to open in the red as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 79 points loss.
The BSE Sensex rallied 623 points, or 1.26 percent, to 50,203.73 on May 18 while the Nifty50 jumped 184.90 points, or 1.24 percent, to 15,108.10.
According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 15,055.47, followed by 15,002.83. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 15,148.97 and 15,189.83.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:
US Markets
Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday, with technology shares turning lower in late New York trading, while the U.S. dollar touched its lowest level since late February.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.13 points, or 0.78%, to 34,060.66, the S&P 500 lost 35.46 points, or 0.85%, to 4,127.83 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 75.41 points, or 0.56%, to 13,303.64.
Asian Markets
Asian markets slipped while some markets in the region are closed for holidays. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 led losses among the region’s major markets as it dropped 1.64%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.97% while the Topix index slipped 0.49%.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 79 points loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 15,081 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.
Oil settles lower
Oil settled lower on Tuesday, tumbling from a two-month high after media reports said the United States and Iran have made progress on reviving a deal restricting the OPEC country's nuclear weapons development, which would boost crude supply.
Brent crude settled down 75 cents, or 1.1%, at $68.71 a barrel by 1:19 p.m. EDT (1719 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down 78 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.49.
China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business
China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.
Under the ban, such institutions, including banks and online payments channels, must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrency, such as registration, trading, clearing and settlement, three industry bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
WPI to remain high in coming months but no fear of stagflation: Analysts
Wholesale price Index (WPI)-based inflation, which in April touched an 11-year high of 10.49 percent, is expected to remain high in the coming months due to a low-base effect and sustained high commodity prices. However, since overall growth in the Indian economy is also showing good numbers due to the same low-base effect from 2020-21, there is no fear of stagflation, economists told Moneycontrol.
Data on May 17 showed that WPI inflation had reached near record levels owing to rising fuel and power prices, that reached a 49-month high, and a rise in global commodity prices as other nations come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dollar left wounded, Fed minutes and inflation in focus
The U.S. dollar teetered near a six-year low against its Canadian counterpart and nursed losses against European currencies as expectations that U.S. interest rates will remain low undermined the greenback.
The minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting due later on Wednesday are expected to confirm that policymakers think a rate hike is still in the distance.
Fed policymakers have said this is a temporary spike and reiterated that they expect interest rates to remain low, which has taken some steam out of the dollar, but not all are convinced by the Fed’s persuasion.
Results on May 19
Indian Oil Corporation, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Angel Fibers, Clariant Chemicals, Endurance Technologies, Gravita India, Heritage Foods, Indo Rama Synthetics, Ineos Styrolution India, JK Tyre & Industries, Kaya, Mangal Credit and Fincorp, Man Infraconstruction, MAS Financial Services, Morarjee Textiles, Niyogin Fintech, Prism Johnson, Rane Engine Valve, Redex Protech, RS Software India, SML Isuzu, Shriram Asset Management, Tanla Platforms, TCI Express, TD Power Systems, and Zuari Agro Chemicals will release quarterly earnings on May 19.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 618.49 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net acquired shares worth Rs 449.52 crore in the Indian equity market on May 18, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
Six stocks – BHEL, Cadila Healthcare, NALCO, Punjab National Bank, SAIL and Sun TV Network – are under the F&O ban for May 19. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies.