SGX Nifty up 50 points; here's what changed for markets while you were sleeping

After a smart recovery towards the fag end of last week, equity markets resumed selloff on Monday, tracking the rout in global equities as concerns lingered over the banking crisis fallout.

"The market is now awaiting the outcome of the Fed meeting to see how they will respond to the ongoing crisis, particularly in terms of rate hikes. Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates by 0–25 basis points," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Option data suggests a broader trading range between 16,600 to 17,400 zones while an immediate trading range between 16,800 to 17,200 zones.

Here's breaking down the pre-market action:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 52.50 points or 0.31% higher at 17,076 around 7 am, signalling a positive start for Dalal Street.

• Tech View: Nifty formed a hammer-like pattern on the daily chart, suggesting a reversal in the prevailing trend. On the daily chart, it fell below 16950 only to close a bit higher. The momentum indicator remained in a bearish crossover with a reading below 40. On the hourly chart, the index has moved higher following a consolidation. The RSI on the smaller time frame has entered a bullish crossover. On the higher end, the index may move up towards 17250. On the lower end, closing basis support remains intact at 16950.

• India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, rose 8.38% to settle at 16 levels.

Asian equities advance
Asian stocks climbed Tuesday following gains on Wall Street as immediate concerns over the strength of the global financial system dissipated.

• South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.5%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.2%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures rose 1.3%

Wall St ends higher
US stocks jumped on Monday after a deal to rescue Credit Suisse and central bank efforts to bolster confidence in the financial system relieved investors, while participants also weighed the likelihood of a pause in rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this week.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
• S&P 500 gained 0.89%
• Nasdaq Composite added 0.39%

Dollar languishes as bank crisis fears ebb
The dollar regained some ground on Tuesday but was pinned near a five-week low as traders tiptoed back into riskier assets after UBS' state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse allayed some fears of a widespread, systemic banking crisis.

The dollar slipped 0.12% to 131.15 against the Japanese yen , while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.04% to 103.30.

Oil prices stabilize
Oil prices stabilised on Tuesday after falling early in the previous session on investor worries that recent banking-sector problems would weigh on the global economy and limit demand for crude.

Brent crude futures for May settlement gained 5 cents and traded at $73.84 per barrel by 0049 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 9 cents to $67.73 a barrel. In the previous session, both Brent and WTI fell about $3 a barrel before settling higher. The April WTI contract expires on Tuesday; May is the most active contract for WTI.

Stocks in F&O ban today
1) Indiabulls Housing Finance
2) Biocon

Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 2,545 crore on Monday. DIIs, on the other hand, bought shares worth Rs 2,876 crore.

Rupee
The rupee fell by 4 paise to 82.63 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking negative sentiments in the domestic as well as global equity markets.

IPO Watch
The initial public offering (IPO) of Udayshivakumar Infra was subscribed 58% on Day 1. The issue will be available for subscription till March 23. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 33-35 per share and investors can bid for 428 shares in 1 lot and in multiples thereof.