From Wall Street update to Q4 results, 10 things to know before opening bell today

Indian equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex are expected to start Friday’s session on a lower note despite good global cues. The markets oscillated in a narrow range on the monthly expiry day on Thursday and settled marginally higher.

Analysts say the prevailing consolidation may continue in the index citing mixed indications and traders should focus more on handling intermediate volatility.

“The focus should be on sectors/stocks that are consistent in their trend instead of betting on laggards. To reclaim positivity and momentum, we need a decisive close above 18,400 in Nifty and 44,000 in the banking index,” Ajit Mishra, VP-Technical Research at Religare Broking said

Stay tuned on Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of the top 10 things to know that could impact the market:

• SGX Nifty futures: Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — were down 52.5 points or 0.28 per cent at 18,414 at the last count ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street, suggesting weak opening for the Indian markets today.
• Wall Street: Overnight in the US, the three main equity indices ended sharply higher on Thursday after a blowout forecast from Nvidia sent the chipmaker’s stock soaring and fueled a rally in AI-related companies, while investors watched for signs of progress in US debt ceiling talks. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88 per cent to end the session at 4,151.28 points. The Nasdaq surged 1.71 per cent to 12,698.09 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11 per cent to 32,764.65 points.
• Asian markets: Equities in most other Asian markets were mixed in early hours on Friday. Except for Japan’s Nikkei 225, which was up almost 1 per cent, all other key markets were in the red. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down around 2 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite down 50 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI was flat with a positive bias today.
• Rupee vs dollar: The rupee fell 4 paise to close at 82.72 against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
• Dollar index: The dollar strengthened for a fourth straight session on Thursday against a basket of major peers to touch a two-month high, as U.S. data pointed to a resilient economy even after an aggressive rate hike cycle by the Federal Reserve. The dollar index rose 0.433 per cent at 104.280 after hitting 104.31, its highest point since March 17.
• Crude oil: Crude oil prices settled lower on Thursday after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting next week. Brent crude futures settled down $2.10, or 2.7 per cent, to $76.25 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled down $2.51, or 3.4 per cent, to $71.83.
• Wheat Production: India is likely to harvest a record 112.7 million tonnes of wheat in 2023, the farm ministry said on Thursday, reiterating its previous estimate of 112.2 million tonnes despite lower crop yields due to unseasonal rains in February and March.
• US debt ceiling update: U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy are closing in on a deal that would raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years. The deal, which is not final, would increase funding for discretionary spending on military and veterans while essentially holding non-defense discretionary spending at current year levels.
• Q4 results: Companies such as Page Industries along with IEX, Vodafone Idea, and SAIL announced their January-March earnings on Thursday. While index heavyweights like Grasim Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma and other firms are expected to report their Q4 numbers on Friday.
• FII, DII flow: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased Indian shares worth Rs 589.10 crore on Wednesday whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers to the tune of Rs 338.44 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

(With inputs from agencies)