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

Indian equities may trade subdued as the latest inflation print in the UK has reinforced the need for central banks to remain on a policy tightening path. Domestic investors will also have their eyes on the corporate earnings as several index heavyweights are scheduled to release their numbers. Positioning in the options of Nifty 50 indicate a narrow trading range of 17500-17600 points for the index.

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 120.5 points, or 0.69 per cent, lower at 17,383.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Thursday.

• Tech View: According to technical indicators, Nifty 50 has to hold above 17,442 points for an upmove towards 17,650 and 17,777 levels, whereas the supports are placed at 17,350 and 17,250 levels.
• India VIX: Amid the subdued trend in the market, the volatility index on Wednesday ended marginally up 0.2% at 17.4875 points.

Asian stocks under pressure
Asian share markets fell on Thursday as investor fears over a looming recession crimped risk appetite, while Treasury yields rose on expectations that the Federal Reserve will remain aggressive in its interest rate hikes.
Japan's yen crept close to the psychological barrier of 150 per dollar after earlier marking a fresh 32-year low of 149.93. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell to more than two-year low of 436.0 and was down 1.6% at 437.16,

US stocks close lower
U.S. stocks snapped a two-day streak of gains on Wednesday as weakness in shares of Abbott Laboratories and a rise in Treasury yields sapped momentum from the current earnings season and outweighed a surge in Netflix Inc shares.

• Dow down 0.33%
• S&P 500 slips 0.67%
• Nasdaq dips 0.85%

Oil prices mixed
Oil prices opened mixed in early Asian trade on Thursday as investors balanced caution over tightening supply against lower demand projections.

Brent crude futures for December settlement fell 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $92.13 a barrel by 0010 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery (WTI), which expires on Thursday, rose 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.89 per barrel.

Dollar rides surge in Treasury yields
The dollar loomed over major peers on Thursday as Treasury yields peaked at multi-year highs, while the yen tumbled to a fresh 32-year low and kept markets on high alert for any signs of an intervention.

• Euro was down 0.1% to $0.9762
• U.S. dollar index was up 0.05% to 113.04
• The Aussie fell 0.2% to $0.6258
• The kiwi was 0.36% lower at $0.5656

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold domestic shares worth Rs. 454 crores, provisional data available with NSE suggested. DIIs net bought stocks to the tune of Rs. 908 crores. The final data as on Tuesday showed that FIIs for the first time since Oct 6, turned net buyers of Indian equities. They net bought shares worth $102.3 million on Tuesday.

Stocks in F&O ban today
5 stocks are in ban. Bharat Heavy Electricals, Delta Corp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, India Cements, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises remain under the F&O ban for Thursday, October 20. 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.

Rupee: The rupee on Wednesday breached the psychologically-crucial level of 83 and ended at a record closing low of 83.0200 against the dollar. The Indian unit had appreciated during the day following the weakness in the dollar against global currencies.

Macro news
Global ratings agency Fitch Ratings has projected India’s current account deficit (CAD) at 3.4% of GDP in the current fiscal year due to higher oil and coal imports. However, it has said that India’s external buffers are sufficient to cushion the risks emanating from aggressive monetary policy tightening in the US and higher commodity prices.

US Beige Book
The US central bank's latest collection of anecdotes from contacts across its 12 districts, known as the "Beige Book," noted inflation pressures had eased somewhat and were expected to continue doing so, a key "soft data" indication that the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes may have started to turn the tide against the highest inflation in 40 years.

Earnings Thursday
87 companies are scheduled to report earnings for the quarter ended September. Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products are among the major ones.

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