Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens

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The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open on a positive note on February 29 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a higher start for the broader index with a gain of 83.50 points.

The equity benchmarks closed more than a percent lower on February 28 amid selling across sectors, with small and midcaps hit the hardest.

The Sensex ended 790.34 points, or 1.08 percent, lower at 72,304.88 after hitting a low of 72,222.29. The Nifty slipped to 21,918.85 before closing at 21,951.20, down 247.10 points, or 1.11 percent, from the previous close.

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty is likely to take immediate support at 21,912 followed by 21,838 and 21,719 levels, while on the higher side, it may see immediate resistance at 22,152 followed by 22,226 and 22,345 levels.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.

GIFT Nifty

Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index in India, with a gain of 83.50 points or 0.38 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around the 21,968 level.

Trade setup for today: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell

US Markets

US stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, a day ahead of a key inflation reading that could heavily influence expectations for the timing of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.39 points, or 0.06 percent, to 38,949.02, the S&P 500 lost 8.42 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5,069.76 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 87.56 points, or 0.55 percent, to 15,947.74.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were trading lower on early Thursday as investors awaited U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.

RIL announces Rs 70,352 crore JV with Disney to merge streaming, TV assets in India

Reliance Industries Ltd has struck a lucrative bargain to become the senior partner in a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company, putting itself atop the leaderboard in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for media and entertainment.

RIL, on its own and through its unit Viacom18, will own a controlling stake in the joint venture that will be created through the merger of Viacom18 and Disney’s India unit Star India.

The transaction will value Star India at about $3.5 billion, a far cry from the original asking price of more than $8 billion. It’s also around a fifth of Star’s India valuation of $15 billion in 2018 when the business changed hands from Rupert Murdoch to Walt Disney, a further testament to Reliance’s famed deal-making prowess, which saw it completely wipe away a huge debt mountain during the height of the pandemic by small stakes sales in Jio and its retail businesses to a wide array of global names.

Sebi issues confirmatory order on Brightcom Group; suggests further examination by ED

The market regulator has confirmed the directions it gave for 20 of the 25 noticees in the Brightcom Group matter.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had investigated a preferential issue of shares and warrants, for which some of the allottees did only partial payment, and the regulator had issued an interim order dated August 22, 2023. On February 28, Sebi issued a confirmatory order.

In the confirmatory order, Sebi's Whole-time Member Ashwani Bhatia has also suggested that the order be passed on to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the agency's examination since some of the transactions involved forex and may involve violation of laws pertaining to dealing in foreign exchanges.

US fourth-quarter economic growth revised slightly lower

The US economy grew at a solid clip in the fourth quarter amid strong consumer spending, the government confirmed on Wednesday, but it appears to have lost some speed early in the new year.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2 percent annualised rate last quarter, revised slightly down from the previously reported 3.3 percent pace, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its second estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected that GDP growth would be unrevised. The modest downward revision reflected a downgrade to private inventory investment. Inflation was fairly mild last quarter, though revised slightly up from previously reported estimates.

The economy grew at a 4.9 percent pace in the July-September quarter. It expanded 2.5 percent in 2023, an acceleration from 1.9 percent in 2022, and is growing above what Federal Reserve officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate of 1.8 percent.

Dollar

The dollar jumped against the euro and yen on Wednesday as investors positioned for US and European inflation data due on Thursday, with month-end portfolio rebalancing also likely to sway market direction.

Bitcoin hit a more than two-year high, benefiting from strong overall market liquidity.

Crude

US crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held firm on its decision to hold off cutting interest rates in the near future, while growing US crude stockpiles added further pressure.

Brent crude futures settled 3 cents higher, or up 0.04 percent at $83.68 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) settled 33 cents lower, or down 0.42 percent at $78.54. Both benchmarks had fallen $1 in earlier trading.

US crude inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, surpassing analysts' expectations of 2.74 million.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,879.23 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 1,827.45 crore worth of stocks on February 28, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has retained Indus Towers, and SAIL to the F&O ban list for February 29. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Canara Bank, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises were removed from the list.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies