The market is likely to open marginally higher on Friday as the SGX Nifty indicates a positive start for the broader index, with a gain of 41 points after opening the session at 18,180. SGX futures touched a high of 18,323 in early trade on May 19.
The BSE Sensex lost 128 points to close at 61,431 in the previous session, while the Nifty 50 closed 51 points lower at 18,129. The Nifty50 traded comfortably higher than its 200-day moving average of 17,997 and is expected to build on the recent momentum.
The pivot charts indicate that the Nifty may get support at 18,104, followed by 18,058 and 17,985. If the index advances, 18,251 would be the initial key resistance level to watch out for, followed by 18,296 and 18,370.
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.
SGX Nifty
The SGX Nifty indicates a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 41 points on Friday. SGX futures stood at 18,220.
Trade setup for Friday: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell
US Markets
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped on Thursday to notch their highest closing levels since August 2022 as Wall Street traders kept focused on debt ceiling negotiations.
The major averages ticked higher into the end of the trading session, with the broad-market index adding 0.94 percent to end at 4,198.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 115.14 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 33,535.91 after trading down for most of the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.51 percent to finish at 12,688.84. The day marked a second consecutive positive session for the major averages.
European Markets
European markets closed higher on Thursday as U.S. debt ceiling talks made progress and several sectors made strong gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.43 percent provisionally, with autos rising 2.5 percent and tech stocks up 2.5 percent.
Germany’s DAX ended the session 1.37 percent higher as firms including Commerzbank and Volkswagen climbed, taking it to its highest level since January 2022, according to Reuters data.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 managed to gain 0.25 percent despite shares of British telecoms giant BT falling 5 percent, trimming earlier losses, after announcing plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 of its workforce between 2028 and 2030.
Asian Markets
Japan stocks were on course to seeing its best week since October as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.67 percent, maintaining the highest levels since 1990 and the Topix climbed 0.37 percent in early trade — marking its sixth winning streak. Japan’s core inflation in April rose 3.4 percent year-on-year, maintaining levels above the central bank’s target.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.23 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.42 percent and the Kosdaq was 0.37 percent higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, meanwhile, is set for a lower open, with futures at 19,469 compared to the HSI’s last close of 19,727.25.
SBI posts record Q4 net profit: Key highlights from the earnings
The country’s largest public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) on May 18 reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 16,694 crore for the March quarter of the financial year 2022-23, recording an 83 percent rise from the year-ago period. In FY23, SBI's gross non-performing assets (GNPA) declined to Rs 90,027 crore from Rs 1.12 lakh crore in the previous year.
ITC Q4 net profit up 21% at Rs 5,087 crore, revenue up 5.6%
ITC Limited on May 18 reported a 21.4 percent year-on-year growth in standalone net profit at Rs 5,086.9 crore for the March quarter. Net profit stood at Rs 4,190.9 crore in same period last year. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) for the company went up 5.6 percent YoY to Rs 16,398 crore from Rs 15,531 crore in the year-ago period. Both topline and bottom-line beat analysts' estimates.
Oil prices
Oil prices dipped on Thursday as traders warily watched for signs of progress on talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, after surging in the previous session on optimism over U.S. fuel demand. Brent crude futures slipped 87 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $76.09 a barrel by 9:48 ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 72 cents, or almost 1 percent, at $72.12 a barrel.
Dollar
The Dollar index traded 0.69 percent higher in futures at 103.59, whereas the value of one dollar hovered near Rs 82.73.
Gold
Gold extended declines on Thursday after more strong economic readings from the U.S. further soured bets that the Federal Reserve may ease up on interest rates hikes, with bullion also pressured by optimism for a debt ceiling deal. Spot gold fell 1.3 percent to $1,955.3586 per ounce by 12:31 p.m. EDT, after earlier touching its lowest since April 3 at $1,951.73. U.S. gold futures were 1.3 percent lower at $1,958.
FII and DII
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 970.18 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 849.96 crore on May 18, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies.
