SGX Nifty down 15 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Domestic equities may open with a negative bias on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would raise interest rates by half a percentage point but projected additional increases by the end of 2023.

Positioning in the options of the Nifty 50 suggest that the index can test 19000 level in case of a favourable policy decision and a rally in global markets. Open interest is the highest at that strike price call option.

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 15.5 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 18,734.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Thursday.

• Tech View: Nifty is hovering near the crucial resistance of 18,650 level and is not showing any strength to surpass the hurdle decisively. A sustainable up move from here could confirm an upside breakout of the resistance, while any failure is likely to result in a minor downward correction ahead.
• India VIX: Strength in the market after encouraging US inflation data further pulled down the volatility index. The gauge ended flat at 12.89 points on Wednesday.

Wall Street ends lower
U.S. stocks closed lower in volatile trading on Wednesday following a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve that raised interest rates by an expected 50 basis points, but its economic projections see higher rates for a longer period.

• Dow down 0.42%
• S&P 500 dips 0.61%
• Nasdaq falls 0.76%

Asian stock fall
Asian stocks followed US equities lower after the Federal Reserve signaled interest rates will climb higher than anticipated next year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slumped 0.91%, after climbing as high as 160.37 in the previous session for the first time since late August.

• Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 9:30 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%
• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
• Hang Seng futures rose 0.1%
• The Topix Index fell 0.1%
• The S&P ASX Index fell 0.5%

Oil prices largely unchanged
Oil prices were largely unchanged in early Asian trade on Thursday as traders weighed optimism over China's demand outlook against the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks.

Dollar falters
The dollar was on the back foot on Thursday, even as the Federal Reserve kept to its hawkish rhetoric after raising rates by half a percentage point, as investors were doubtful over how much the central bank would commit to putting the brakes on growth to curb inflation.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) on Wednesday net bought shares worth Rs 372 crore, provisional data showed. DIIs net bought shares to the tune of Rs 926 crore.


Stocks in F&O ban today
Bharat Heavy Electricals, Delta Corp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Gujarat National Fertilizers. 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.


Rupee: The Indian unit rose against the dollar on Wednesday amid the strength in domestic equities and signs of easing inflationary pressures. The rupee settled at 82.45 a dollar against 82.60 in the previous session.


Macro news

• The Federal Reserve downshifted its rapid pace of interest-rate hikes while signaling that borrowing costs, now the highest since 2007, will rise more than investors anticipate as central bankers seek to ensure inflation keeps cooling.

• Inflation in the UK fell more sharply than expected in November to 10.7% from a 41-year high of 11.1% in October

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)