SGX Nifty down 120 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Indian equities are likely to remain volatile, tracking the global market trends. Investors’ focus will largely be on September quarter earnings, as several companies are slated to report numbers. The downside for equities, however, is expected to be limited amid festive cheer in the run-up to Diwali.

Positioning in the options of Nifty 50 indicates a wide range of 16,500-18,000 points for the index for the week.

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 119.5 points, or 0.69 per cent, per cent higher at 17,093.5, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Monday.

• Tech View: For the last three weeks, Nifty 50 is trading in a range of 16800 to 17350 levels amid volatility. The candles for the last three weeks are having tall wicks on both ends, which indicates indecision among the traders due to volatility. The index major resistance zone will be at 17200-17300, while support is at 16800 points.
• India VIX: The strong rebound in the market on Friday eased the risk-off sentiment and pulled down the fear gauge sharply. The index ended 10 per cent lower at 18.2575 points.

Asian stocks drop at open
Asian share markets slipped on Monday following another drubbing for Wall Street as investors brace for further drastic tightening in global financial conditions, with all the risks of recession that brings. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was trading 1.2 per cent lower.

US stocks slide
US stocks dropped on Friday as worsening inflation expectations kept intact worries that the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike path could trigger a recession, while investors digested the early stages of earnings season.

• Dow Jones tanked 1.34% to 29,634.83
• S&P 500 plunged 2.37 to 3,583.07
• Nasdaq tumbled 3.08% to 10,321.39

Sterling rebounds on UK fiscal policy U-turn
Sterling edged higher on Monday following British Prime Minister Liz Truss's partial reversal of her government's economic plan, while the yen was pinned near a 32-year low as markets awaited signs of intervention from Japanese authorities. Dollar index was firmed at 113.02

Oil prices bounce up
Oil prices rose in thin trade in early Asian hours on Monday as the US dollar's strength eased while investors awaited data from China to gauge demand at the world's top crude oil importer.

Brent crude futures rose 85 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $92.48 a barrel by 0019 GMT, recovering from a 6.4 per cent fall last week. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $86.34 a barrel, up 73 cents, or 0.9 per cent.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold in the domestic market for the sixth straight session on Friday. Net-net, they sold shares worth Rs. 1,011 crores, provisional data available with NSE suggested. DIIs remained net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs. 1,624 crores. FPIs withdrew Rs 7,458 crore from equities during October 3-14.

Stocks in F&O ban today
Three stocks - Delta Corp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and India Cements are under the F&O ban for Monday, October 17. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit.

Listing of Electronics Mart India
Electronics Mart India, a retail chain of consumer durables and electronics items, will make its debut at the bourses on Monday. The company sold its shares between October 4-7 for Rs 59 apeice to raise 500 crore via its initial stake sale. The company was commanding a strong premium in the grey market ahead of its listing.

Rupee: The rupee traded largely steady against the US dollar on Friday, but settled at a record low of 82.3500 against the greenback. The dollar index has risen 1 per cent last week.

MACRO NEWS
The government on Saturday hiked windfall gains tax on domestic crude oil by Rs.3,000 per tonne. The cess on exports of diesel has been raised by Rs.7.00 per litre, and on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by Rs.3.50 a litre.

India's forex reserves rose by $204 million to $532.868 billion for the week ended October 7 helped by a jump in the value of gold holdings, the Reserve Bank. This is the first weekly rise in the kitty since the seven days ended August 27.

The country's exports rose by 4.82 per cent to $35.45 billion in September, even as the trade deficit widened to $25.71 billion, according to the data released by the commerce ministry. In its preliminary data, the ministry stated that the country's merchandise exports contracted by 3.52 per cent to $32.62 billion in September.

Earnings Monday
32 companies are scheduled to report earnings for the quarter ended September 2022. ACC, Bank of Maharashtra, Heidelbergcement, PVR, and Star Housing Finance are among the major ones.