SGX Nifty down 60 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Domestic stocks are likely to see a negative start to Wednesday's session after three days of back-to-back gains. US stock settled mixed in overnight trade while Asian markets were trading lower earlier today. Concerns over rising Covid-19 cases at home and announcements of restrictions by states hurt investor sentiment. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 59.50 points, or 0.33 per cent, lower at 17,815.50, signalling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Wednesday.

• Tech View: Nifty50 on Tuesday climbed for the third session in a row and closed above the 17,800 level. The index formed a bullish candle on the daily chart with a long wick, suggesting intraday fall was bought into. Analysts do not rule out some profit-taking at highs, even as they believe Nifty50 touching the 18,000 level is a possibility.
• India VIX: The fear gauge eased more than 2 per cent to 16.12 level on Tuesday over its close at 16.45 on Monday.

Asian shares mostly lower
Most Asian markets opened on a weak note on Wednesday as investors prepared for the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting and jobs data later in the week that could play a major role in determining the bank's plans. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down by 0.69 per cent.

• Japan's Nikkei inched up merely 0.01%
• South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.22%
• Australia's ASX 200 plunged 0.27%
• China's Shanghai declined 0.50%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.77%

US stocks settled mixed
Wall street ended the second day of 2022 with mixed cues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record closing high on Tuesday for a second straight day as financial and industrial shares rallied, while the Nasdaq fell.

• Dow Jones gained 0.59% at 36,799.65
• S&P 500 dropped 0.06% to 4,793.54
• Nasdaq tanked 1.33% to 15,622.72

Dollar index rangebound, yen at 5-year low
The US dollar index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, was rangebound in Wednesday's trade. Japanese yen was pinned near a five-year low on the dollar as traders wagered the Bank of Japan would lag a looming wave of global policy tightening as inflation gallops ahead around the world.

• Dollar Index was range bound near 96.313
• Euro was holding to lows at $1.1279
• Pound was flat at $1.3527
• Yen weakened to 115.50 per dollar
• Yuan exchanged hands at 6.3727 against the greenback

FPIs buy shares worth Rs 1,274 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,273.86 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs turned net buyers to the tune of Rs 532.97 crore, data suggests.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: Snapping its three-session rising streak, the rupee tumbled 30 paise to close at 74.58 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid elevated crude oil prices and a strong greenback overseas.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond jumped wildly 0.90 per cent to 6.51 after trading in the 6.48 - 6.52 range on Tuesday.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.29 per cent on Tuesday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 2.00-3.50 per cent.