The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Thursday ahead of the weekly expiry of index futures and option contracts as indicated by the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange amid weak global cues. On Wednesday, the benchmarks fell for second straight session with Sensex falling as much as 666 points and Nifty 50 index briefly dropped below its important psychological level of 17,800.
Here are key things to know before market opens on Thursday
SGX Nifty Update
The Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty Futures fell 0.52 per cent or 94 points to 17,774.
Advertisement
Asian Markets
Most of the Asian markets were trading lower mirroring losses on the Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.98 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.23 per cent and Taiwan Weighted declined 0.55 per cent. Asian shares retreated on Thursday in line with a global selloff, as markets were spooked by more aggressive noises from U.S. policymakers about the need for tighter monetary policy, which also kept the dollar near a two-year peak.
US Markets
Stocks closed lower and bond yields rose on Wall Street Wednesday after details from last month’s meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers showed the central bank intends to be aggressive in its efforts to fight inflation.
Advertisement
The S&P 500 fell 1%, adding to its losses from a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4% and the Nasdaq slid 2.2%.
The minutes from the meeting three weeks ago reveal that Fed policymakers agreed to begin cutting the central bank’s stockpile of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities by about $95 billion a month, starting in May. That’s more than some investors expected and nearly double the pace the last time the Fed shrank its balance sheet.
Gold and Crude Oil Price Check
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for May delivery fell $5.73 to $96.23 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for June delivery fell $5.57 to $101.07 a barrel.
Gold for June delivery fell $4.40 to $1,923.10 an ounce. Silver for May delivery fell 7 cents to $24.46 an ounce and May copper fell 6 cents to $4.74 a pound.
The dollar rose to 123.78 Japanese yen from 123.61 yen. The euro fell to $1.0900 from $1.0905.
Foreign Flows
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 2,280 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 623 crore.
Stocks In Focus: Zee Entertainment, Godrej Consumer Products, Max Financial Services
Zee Entertainment
The company's single largest shareholder Invesco will reduce its stake in the company via block deal, news channel CNBC Awaaz reported. Invesco along with OFI Global China Fund LLC will sell 7.4 crore shares worth Rs 2,200 crore in the price range of Rs 270-290 per share.
Advertisement
Godrej Consumer Products
The company expects to deliver close to double-digit sales growth, driven entirely by pricing. Our 2-year CAGR would be in early twenties. We witnessed a mixed performance in our Personal Care and Home Care categories. Personal Care sustained its double-digit growth trajectory, primarily led by pricing in Personal Wash. Home Care witnessed a soft performance on a high base, impacted by a relatively muted season for Home Insecticides and the discretionary nature of Air Fresheners.
Max Financial Services
The company's board approved the appointment of Amrit Singh as the CFO and KMP of the Company effective May 1, 2022 in place of Mandeep Mehta.
Advertisement
Russia-Ukraine War Update
The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday calling for a federal government report on evidence of war crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Lawmakers backed the measure amid gruesome reports of atrocities in towns around Kyiv, particularly Bucha, and new accounts of the civilian death toll in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
The legislation calls for the U.S. president to submit to Congress a report on efforts to preserve evidence related to war crimes.
