SGX Nifty up 40 points: Asian markets, dollar movement, Q3 earnings, FPI flows & more

Domestic stock indices are likely to open on a positive note on Wednesday but upside, if any, would be capped. Asian markets were trading mixed in early trade while US stocks also settled mostly lower overnight. Back home, December quarter earnings will continue to trigger stock specific actions. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook

Nifty on Tuesday closed above 18,050 with gains of almost 1 per cent. Ruchit Jain of 5paisa.com said the only factor that is weighing on the market is the selling by FPIs as the institutional investors have been sellers in the cash segment and have formed short positions in the index futures segment as well. “It would be important to see if they cover their short positions going ahead as much of other global data is positive," he said.

SGX Nifty signals a positive start

Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange quoted 40 points, or 0.22 per cent, up at 18,116, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday.

Asian shares trade mixed

Asian shares were trading mixed, suggesting another choppy day ahead. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.20 per cent. Japan's Nikkei jumped 0.61 per cent; Australia's ASX 200 shed 0.04 per cent; New Zealand's DJ was up 0.21 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.21 per cent; Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.72 per cent; and China's Shanghai added 0.22 per cent.

Dollar steady, yen slips

The US dollar steadied on Wednesday, while the yen slipped as investors eagerly awaited the Bank of Japan's policy decision, which could set the stage for Tokyo to end its ultra-easy monetary policy. The dollar index was flat at 102.40. The Japanese yen weakened 0.56 per cent versus the greenback at 128.83 per dollar. Sterling was last trading at $1.2274, down 0.11 per cent on the day, while the euro was down 0.03 per cent to $1.0785.

US stocks settled mostly lower

On Wall Street, investor focus was on quarterly earnings reports, with the Dow and the S&P 500 both ending the day lower, and shares of Goldman Sachs Group falling 6.4 per cent after the it announced preliminary fourth-quarter earnings. Goldman reported a bigger-than-expected 69 per cent drop in fourth-quarter profit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 391.76 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 33,910.85, the S&P 500 lost 8.12 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 3,990.97 and the Nasdaq Composite added 15.96 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 11,095.11.

Q3 earnings today

IndusInd Bank, Persistent Systems, Central Bank of India, Oracle Financial Services Software, Alok Industries, CCL Products India, Rallis India, Surya Roshni, PSP Projects, Stylam Industries, KPI Green Energy, Wendt India, KDDL, Goa Carbons, Aurum Proptech and Shemaroo Entertainment are among the companies that will announce their results for the December 2022 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban

Five stocks namely Delta Corp, L&T Finance Holdings, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Manappuram Finance and GNFC- have been put under F&O ban for Wednesday, January 18 by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Derivative contracts in a security are banned when it crosses 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). No new positions can be created in the derivative contracts of said security. This prohibition is lifted when the open interest in the stock drops below 80 per cent of the MWPL across exchanges.

FPIs buy shares worth Rs 211 crore

Provisional data available with NSE suggests FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 211.06 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 90.81 crore.

Rupee falls 12 paise against dollar

The rupee settled 12 paise lower at 81.70 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a rebound in the greenback overseas and firm crude oil prices. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows further weighed on investor sentiment.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies

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