Top 10 things to know before the market opens today

The stock market is expected to open in the red as trends on the SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India with a loss of 73 points.

The BSE Sensex closed 12.3 points down at 61,223, while the Nifty50 declined 2 points to 18,256 and formed a bullish candle on the daily charts as the closing was higher than the opening levels.

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 18,154.7, followed by 18,053.6. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 18,321.9 and 18,388.

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

The Dow closed lower on Friday with a big drag from financial stocks as investors were disappointed by the fourth quarter results from big US banks, which cast a shadow over the earnings season kick-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 201.81 points, or 0.56 percent, to 35,911.81, the S&P 500 gained 3.82 points, or 0.08 percent, to 4,662.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 86.94 points, or 0.59 percent, to 14,893.75.

Asian Markets

The Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday ahead of economic data due from China, including the fourth-quarter GDP figures. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.79 percent in early trade, while the Topix index added 0.57 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on the SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India with a loss of 73 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 18,201 levels on the Singaporean exchange.

Oil extends rally on supply tightness, Brent at more than 3-year high

Oil prices rose on Monday, with Brent crude futures at their highest in more than three years, as investors bet supply will remain tight amid restrained output by major producers with global demand unperturbed by the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Brent crude futures gained 42 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $86.48 a barrel by 0022 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 62 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $84.44 a barrel, after hitting $84.78, the highest since November 10, 2021, earlier in the session.

Fed officials say rate hikes near as inflation soars

US central bankers, in a last flurry of public comments before their upcoming January policy meeting, are making it crystal clear: they'll likely start raising interest rates as early as March to rein in high inflation likely to be made worse by the current surge of COVID-19.

It is "sensible" for the central bank to begin raising interest rates this year, following dramatic improvements in the labour market and inflation that is well above the Fed's 2 percent target, New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Friday.

China's Q4 GDP growth seen hitting 1-1/2-year low, raising heat on policymakers

The Chinese economy seems to have grown at the slowest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter, dragged by weaker demand due to a property downturn, curbs on debt and strict COVID-19 measures, raising heat on policymakers to roll out more easing steps.

Data on Monday is expected to show the gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.6 percent in October-December from a year earlier - the weakest pace since the second quarter of 2020 and slowing from 4.9 percent in the third quarter, a Reuters poll showed.

On a quarterly basis, growth is forecast to rise to 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter from 0.2 percent in July-September.

HDFC Bank Q3 profit rises 18% to Rs 10,342 crore, net interest income grows to Rs 18,444 crore

Leading private sector lender HDFC Bank on January 15 clocked a standalone net profit of Rs 10,342 crore for the December 2021 quarter, up 18 percent year-on-year backed by decline in bad loan provisions. The profit in corresponding quarter last fiscal was at Rs 8,758.29 crore.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, climbed 13 percent to Rs 18,444 crore in Q3FY22, with net interest margin at 4.1 percent for the quarter, and healthy credit growth of 16.4 percent.

Results today

UltraTech Cement, Angel One, HFCL, Sonata Software, Tata Steel Long Products, Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem, Advik Capital, Arfin India, Artson Engineering, Bhansali Engineering Polymers, Fineotex Chemical, Goodluck India, Hathway Cable & Datacom, KIC Metaliks, KP Energy, KPI Global Infrastructure, Maharashtra Scooters, Moschip Technologies, Poddar Pigments, Tiger Logistics (India), and Vikas EcoTech.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,598.20 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 371.41 crore in the Indian market on January 14, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

Four stocks—Escorts, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Vodafone Idea, and SAIL —are under the F&O ban for January 17. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

With inputs from Reuters & other agencies