The market is expected to open in the green as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 43 points.
The BSE Sensex was down 139 points at 59,606, while the Nifty50 dropped 43 points to 17,511, the lowest closing level since October 18 last year, and formed a bearish candle with upper and lower shadows on the daily charts. The index continued making lower highs and lower lows for the fifth consecutive session.
As per the pivot charts, the Nifty has support at 17,466, followed by 17,427 and then 17,364. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,592, followed by 17,631 and 17,694.
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:
US Markets
Wall Street ended a topsy-turvy Thursday in positive territory, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-session losing streak, as investors grappled with how interest rate policy might affect the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.82 points, or 0.33%, to 33,153.91, the S&P 500 gained 21.27 points, or 0.53%, to 4,012.32 and the Nasdaq Composite added 83.33 points, or 0.72%, to 11,590.40.
Asian Markets
Asia-Pacific markets were largely higher on Friday as the nominee to lead the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda spoke at confirmation hearing.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.44%, and the Topix climbed 0.16% as investors also digested Japan’s core inflation that rose 4.2% in January. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.32%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.26%.
SGX Nifty
Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 43 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 17,634 levels on the Singaporean exchange.
Oil settles up 2% on tightening supply, demand concerns linger
Oil prices settled up 2% on Thursday on expectations of steep cuts to Russian production next month, but a stronger dollar and a sharper-than-expected jump in US inventories added to demand concerns.
Brent crude futures settled up $1.61, or 2%, to $82.21 a barrel, compared with about $98 a barrel on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) settled up $1.44, or 2%, to $75.39 a barrel, ending a sixth session losing streak.
US fourth-quarter GDP revised lower on weaker consumer spending
US economic growth in the fourth quarter was weaker than previously estimated, reflecting a downward revision to consumer spending.
Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, or the total value of all goods and services produced in the US, increased at a 2.7% annualized rate during the period, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The figure compares with a previously reported 2.9% advance.
The details of the report point to an economy that was losing steam at the end of 2022. Stripping out trade, government spending, and inventories, a key gauge of underlying demand known as inflation-adjusted final sales to private domestic purchasers rose just 0.1%, the weakest since the start of the pandemic.
Household expenditures increased an annualized 1.4% in the final three months of 2022, driven by a third-straight quarter of decline in spending on durable goods such as motor vehicles. Consumer spending was previously estimated as rising by 2.1%.
Japan's consumer inflation hits 41-year high, keeps BOJ under pressure
Japan's core consumer inflation hit a fresh 41-year high in January as companies passed on higher costs to households, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to phase out its massive stimulus programme.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes energy costs, was 4.2% higher in January than a year earlier, matching a median market forecast and accelerating from a 4.0% annual gain seen in December.
RBI to conduct 14-day variable rate reverse repo on February 24
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct a 14-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction on February 24 for a notified amount of Rs 50,000 crore, the central bank said in a press release. The auction will be held between 10:30 am and 11:00 am, the RBI said. The reversal of these funds will take place on March 10.
The VRRR is usually undertaken to withdraw excess liquidity from the system. Presently, the liquidity in the banking system is in surplus of around Rs 48,802.08 crore.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,417.24 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 1,586.06 crore on February 23, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.
US applications for jobless benefits fall again last week
The number of Americans filing for jobless aid fell last week as the labor market remains resilient in the face of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases meant to cool the economy.
Applications for unemployment benefits in the US for the week ending Feb. 18 fell by 3,000 last week to 192,000, from 195,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It's the sixth straight week claims were under 200,000.
The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, inched up by 1,500 to 191,250. It’s the fifth straight week that figure has been below 200,000.
Dollar steady as data points to higher-for-longer US interest rates
The dollar was steady against its major peers on Thursday, as new data showed a still-tight US labor market, underpinning convictions that the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening may be far from over.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell in the week ended February 18, decreasing 3,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 192,000, according to the Labor Department.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, modestly rose 0.02% to 104.52, slipping below the 104.68 high seen in late morning trading in Europe but little changed since yesterday's session.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies
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