Indian benchmark equity indices are likely to open higher on Friday amid positive sentiment in the global markets. The Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange were trading 104 pts or 0.60% higher at 17,459.50 in the early morning trade. Asian markets were trading in the green, and the US market ended the overnight session broadly higher. “In the previous session, the realty sector was in the limelight for the second consecutive day after reports of strong property registration in Mumbai. In the near term, the lack of any positive trigger could keep the market directionless. Even FII selling has intensified in the last couple of days, adding to the overall negative sentiments,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Key things to know before share market opens
Wall Street Overnight
Wall Street stocks surged on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 341.73 points, or 1.05%, to close at 33,003.57. Salesforce boosted the Dow, rallying 11.5% on a strong quarter and forward guidance. The S&P 500 gained 0.76% to close at 3,981.35. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.73%, ending the session at 11,462.98.
Crude Oil
Oil prices slipped in early trade on Friday but were on track to post gains of nearly 2% for the week as a rebound in China’s factory activity offset growing concerns about rising U.S. crude stocks and potential rate hikes in Europe.
FII/DII Data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth a net Rs 12,770.81 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) acquired equities worth a net Rs 2128.8 crore on 2 March, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
F&O Ban
The National Stock Exchange has no stocks on its F&O ban list for 3 March. According to the NSE, stocks are prohibited in the F&O sector when 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.
Nifty 50 outlook
“Nifty remained volatile with a predominant weakness, as the bears kept control throughout the session. On the daily chart, the Nifty continues to fall within a descending channel, suggesting a continuation of the bearish trend. The momentum oscillator, RSI, is in a bearish crossover. Over the short term, the index may move towards 17150. On the higher end, resistance is placed at 17400,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
“Nifty is trading in the crucial Fibonacci support zone 17336 – 17300 which are the 61.82% retracement level (17336) and 78.6% retracement levels (17300) respectively and we expect the Nifty to hold on to this support and resume its next leg of up move. Overall, we believe that the Nifty is in a counter-trend pullback mode and the pullback is not complete yet,” said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
“Yesterday Nifty did not sustain at the 200-DMA moving average, so now the window of 17000 will be open as the next demand level. On the upside, the resistance levels at any short covering move are 17500 and 17625,” Pravesh Gour, Sr. research analyst, Swastika Investmart.
Bank Nifty outlook
“We can see a double bottom formation on the Bank Nifty, which indicates a possible short-term bottom. The 20-DMA around 41000 is an immediate hurdle. A move above the 20-day moving average can result in substantial short covering. On the downside, 40150 will be an immediate support level,” said Pravesh Gour, Sr. research analyst, Swastika Investmart.
“Bank nifty has support at 39800 levels while resistance is placed at 40900. Market breadth currently stands on the weaker side; one should adopt a cautious approach as the key heavyweight stocks are currently skewed on the negative side,” said Om Mehra, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.
“The bears came back strong and the index witnessed stiff resistance at 41,000 where fresh call writing was visible. The index remains in a sell-on-rise mode as long it stays below the mentioned resistance zone. The index’s immediate support on the downside stands at 40,000 and if breached will lead to a further downside towards 39,500 levels,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities