SGX Nifty down 35 points: Asian stocks, US markets, dollar movement, Q4 earnings & more

Domestic stock markets are likley to open lower on Friday amid muted global cues. Asian stocks were mixed in early trade while US stocks extended their recent fall on the back of renewed concerns over the health of banking sector. Back home, Q4 results, weaker dollar and FPI flows will sway the market mood. Here's what you should know before the opening bell:

Nifty outlook
Strong candle formations on the Nifty daily chart after an Inverted Head & Shoulder pattern breakout indicate the market is in no mood to retest its breakout levels. The momentum oscillator RS (14) has moved above 70 levels, which shows conviction in the trend, said Rohan Patil, Technical Analyst, SAMCO Securities. "We will still consider buying the index on every dip as the trend is our friend and presently the trend is on the higher side. The support for Nifty is placed at 18,050-18,000 levels and resistance is capped at 18,400-18,450 levels, he said.

SGX Nifty signals a negative start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 35 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 18,250, hinting at a negative start for the domestic market on Friday.

Asian shares mix in early trade
Asian stocks opened mixed after overnight fall in US stocks and renewed turmoil across regional banks in the world’s largest economy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.57 per cent. Australia's ASX 200 gained 0.12 per cent; New Zealand's DJ rose 0.10 per cent; China's Shanghai dropped 0.33 per cent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.73 per cent and Korea's Kospi retreated 0.02 per cent.

Oil prices stare at weekly loss
Oil prices held steady in early trading on Friday, but were set for a third straight week of losses after markets witnessed dramatic drops on fears of a weakening US economy and slowing Chinese demand. Brent crude rose 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $72.64 a barrel at 0002 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate was up 17 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $68.73 a barrel after four straight days of losses.

Dollar slips, Yen moves up
The yen was eyeing its first weekly gain in nearly a month on Friday, driven by safe haven demand as bank sector turmoil in the United States unfolds, while the dollar fell as traders priced in more aggressive rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The greenback broadly lower on Friday with the dollar index slipping 0.11 per cent to 101.23. The euro edged away from its recent one-year peak and last stood at $1.1034. Sterling rose 0.16 per cent to $1.2595. The yen was last 0.2 per cent higher at 134.02 per dollar.

US stocks extend decline
Wall Street ended lower on Thursday after PacWest's move to explore strategic options deepened fears about the health of US lenders and hit shares of regional banks. S&P500 index declined 0.72 per cent to end the session at 4,061.22 points. It was its fourth straight session of declines, the first such streak since February. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.49 per cent to 11,966.40 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 0.86 per cent to 33,127.74 points

Q4 earnings today
Britannia Industries, Adani Power, Marico, One97 Communications, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Bharat Forge, The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore, Piramal Enterprises, Ajanta Pharma, Blue Dart Express, Tata Investment Corporation, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Vardhman Textiles, Equitas Small Finance Bank and Sundaram Clayton are among the companies that will announce their earnings for the March 2023 quarter.

Stocks in F&O ban
Two stocks- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) and Manappuram Finance- have been put under the ban by National Stock Exchange (NSE) for Friday, May 5. 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 1,415 cr
Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,414.73 crore on Thursday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 441.56 crore.

Rupee up 2 paise against dollar
The rupee edged up by 2 paise to settle at 81.78 against the US dollar in a range-bound trade on Thursday, tracking the weakness of the American currency in the overseas market. Forex traders said significant foreign fund inflows and crude oil prices trading below US dollar 75 a barrel also supported the local unit.

Note: With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies