SGX Nifty up 100 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Domestic equity markets are likely to open on a positive note, tracking firm global cues. Asian peers rose during early hours, while the US Stocks rallied in overnight trade after the US FOMC minutes were along expected lines. Back home, traders will look for fresh trading signals. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 103.5 points, or 0.65 per cent, higher at 16,126, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.

• Tech View: Nifty50 on Wednesday fell for the third straight day and formed a bearish candle on the daily chart, in as many trading sessions. During the session, the index managed to defend the 16,000 mark and continued its recent consolidation. Analysts said rangebound moves may continue in the coming days and that any upside on Nifty50 will face hurdles at the 16,400 level.
• India VIX: The fear gauge dropped more than a per cent to 25.28 level on Wednesday over its close at 25.65 on Tuesday.

Asian shares trade higher
Asian shares opened higher on Thursday following gains on Wall Street while investors searched for fresh trading cues, after adopting an optimistic view of Federal Reserve minutes that reiterated plans to raise interest rates. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.24 per cent.

• Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.58%
• Australia's ASX 200 added 0.02%
• South Korea's Kospi surged 0.67%
• New Zealand's DJ gained 0.52%
• China's Shanghai shed 0.0.3%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.29%

US stocks ended higher
Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, boosted after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting showed policymakers unanimously felt the US economy was very strong as they grappled with reining in inflation without triggering a recession.

• Dow Jones gained 0.60% to 32,120.28
• S&P 500 surged 0.95% to 3,978.73
• Nasdaq advanced 1.51% to 11,434.74

Oil prices inched up
Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending a cautious rally this week on signs of tight supply while the European Union wrangles with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter after it invaded Ukraine.

Brent crude futures for July settlement inched up 7 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $114.10 a barrel at 0142 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery climbed 22 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $110.55 a barrel.

FIIs sell shares worth Rs 1,803 cr
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1803.06 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs turned net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,229.82 crore, data suggests.

Q4 earnings today
Hindalco Industries, Berger Paints (India), Motherson Sumi Systems, Page Industries, Muthoot Finance, Prestige Estates, Piramal Enterprises, Colgate-Palmolive, NMDC, Oberoi Reality, Cummins India, Union Bank of India, Quess Corp, Bharat Dynamics and Zee Entertainment are among the companies which will announce their March quarter earnings today.

Stocks in F&O ban today
No stocks are under the F&O ban for Thursday, May 26. 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.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee recovered 2 paise to settle at 77.55 against the US currency in a restricted trade on Wednesday as interventions by banks supported the local unit while a stronger dollar in overseas markets restricted the gains.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond dropped 0.73 per cent to 7.30 after trading in 7.29 - 7.34 range on Wednesday.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 4.08 per cent on Wednesday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 2.40-4.30 per cent.