Indian benchmark indices are likely to open flat with a positive bias, hinted SGX Nifty on Friday. Ahead of the session, Nifty futures were trading marginally higher at 18,133 level on the Singapore Exchange. In the previous session, BSE Sensex fell 187 pts to 60,858, while NSE Nifty 50 fell 58 pts to 18,108. Indices are expected to remain rangebound in the last trading session of the week, and markets are likely to see stock-specific action. ” We expect the market to consolidate in a range on the back of global volatility; however, inline Q3FY23 earnings so far has capped the downside,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Key things to know before market opens
Global market watch: Markets in the Asia-Pacific traded mostly higher on Friday as investors digested Japan’s inflation data. The nationwide core CPI rose 4% in December, the fastest pace since 1981. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.02% and the Topix traded 0.15% higher. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.21%, bucking the regional trend. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.85%, while Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.27%. Overnight in the US, stocks on Wall Street fell as investors grew increasingly concerned the Federal Reserve will keep raising rates despite signs of slowing inflation. Dow Jones (.DJI) fell 0.76%, S&P 500 lost 0.76%, and Nasdaq (.IXIC) dropped 0.96%.
Key levels to watch: “Volume profile indicates Nifty may find support around 17850-17950 zone. Coming to the OI Data, on the call side, the highest OI was observed at 18200, followed by 18300 strike prices. While on the put side, the highest OI was seen at 18000 strike price. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 41800-41900 while resistance is placed at 42600-42700 range. As markets continue to trade in a wide range with high volatility, we advise traders to keep booking profits on their trading positions,” said Ameya Ranadive, CMT, CFTe, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.
FII and DII data: Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 399.98 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) net offloaded shares worth Rs 128.96 crore on 19 January, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE: The National Stock Exchange has Delta Corp, Manappuram Finance, L&T Finance Holdings, and GNFC stocks under its F&O ban list for 20 January. According to the NSE, the stocks mentioned above are prohibited in the F&O sector because they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock.
Q3 Results today: Reliance Industries, HDFC Life Insurance Company, JSW Steel, LTIMindtree, Union Bank of India, Bandhan Bank, RBL Bank, Aether Industries, Atul, Coforge, DCM Shriram, Heritage Foods, Indian Energy Exchange, JSW Energy, NELCO, Petronet LNG, Ramkrishna Forgings, Shakti Pumps, and Tanla Platforms will report their quarterly earnings on Friday, 20 January.
Crude Oil edges higher: Oil prices rose on Friday on optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will end its tightening cycle, buoying the economy and boosting fuel demand. Brent futures for March delivery gained 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $86.64 a barrel by 0113 GMT, while U.S. crude advanced 54 cents to $80.87 per barrel, a 0.7% gain. The benchmarks were on track for a second straight week of gains. Both closed 1% higher on Thursday, near their highest closing levels since 1 December.