Stock Market Today: With a gain of 7 points, trends in the GIFT Nifty suggest a flat start for the larger Indian index. The 21,535 mark was the focal point of the Nifty futures trade.

On January 19, the main Sensex and Nifty indices are probably going to open level since GIFT Nifty patterns suggest a muted opening for the overall index, which is up 7 points.

Despite a mid-session pullback on January 18, the market indexes ended lower for the third day in a row. This was due to selling pressure on banks and IT companies amid unfavorable global cues.

The Nifty was down 109.70 points, or 0.51 percent, to 21,462.30 at the closing, while the Sensex was down 313.90 points, or 0.44 percent, to 71,186.86.

The Nifty is expected to find immediate support at 21,332, followed by 21,272, and 21,175 levels, according to the pivot point calculator. Conversely, on the higher side, it can encounter immediate resistance at 21,486, followed by 21,586 and 21,683 levels.

GIFT Nifty

With a gain of 7 points, trends in the GIFT Nifty suggest a flat start for the larger Indian index. The 21,535 mark was the focal point of the Nifty futures trade.

US Exchanges

As excitement in AI propelled gains in Nvidia and other chipmakers, US stocks closed Thursday’s trading session significantly higher, with the S&P 500 closing at record highs.

The S&P 500 finished the session at 4,780.94 points, up 0.88 percent. The benchmark has only decreased by 0.3 percent since closing at its all-time high in January 2022.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.54 percent to 37,468.61 points, while the Nasdaq gained 1.35 percent to 15,055.65 points.

Asian Markets

Early on Friday, Asian markets saw gains, with the Nikkei and Kospi rising by more than 1% apiece.

Today’s RIL Q3 Earnings

RIL is predicted to report consolidated revenue of Rs 2.29 lakh crore for the quarter ending December 2023, up 6% year over year, and consolidated EBITDA of Rs 40,232.70 crore, up 14.1 percent. Combined net profit is anticipated to reach Rs 16,625 crore, up 7% year over year, based on eight brokerage estimates that Moneycontrol surveyed.

Analysts anticipate that Reliance’s exploration and production (E&P) division will perform well in the third quarter, in addition to Jio and retail. On the other hand, a decrease in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) industry is anticipated due to product fractures and decreased realizations.

Asset quality remains strong as IndusInd Bank’s Q3 net profit soars 17% to Rs 2,301 crore. On January 18, 2023, private sector lender IndusInd Bank announced a net profit of Rs 2,301 crore for the October–December quarter of the fiscal year (FY) 2023–24. This is a 17.1% increase from Rs 1,963.64 crore during the same period last year.

The gross non-performing asset (NPA) percentage of the bank decreased to 1.92 percent from 2.06 percent during the same quarter the previous year. However, net non-performing assets (NPA) improved from 0.662 percent to 0.57 percent during the quarter.

At Rs 5,296 crores, net interest income for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, increased by 18% YoY and 4% QoQ. In comparison to 4.27 percent in Q3 of FY23 and 4.29 percent in Q2 of FY24, the net interest margin for the third quarter of FY24 was 4.29 percent.

Oil Prices

Thursday’s oil prices finished higher after the government announced a significant weekly reduction in crude stockpiles, the International Energy Agency (IEA) joined producer organization OPEC in projecting a strong increase in global oil demand, and harsh winter weather hindered US petroleum output.

The Middle East’s geopolitical issues also concerned oil dealers. Two days after Iranian strikes within Pakistani territory, Pakistan launched strikes inside Iran, targeting militants who support the Baluchi separatist movement, according to the foreign ministry of the nation.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures closed up $1.52, or 2%, to $74.08, while Brent crude futures settled up $1.22, or 1.6 percent, to $79.10 a barrel.

Dollar

On Friday, the dollar was poised for its second weekly rise in a row due to signals of the US economy’s resiliency and central bankers’ reluctance over rate reduction.

The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollar are expected to see their biggest weekly increases since November and June, respectively, at 1.7% and 2.1%. The likelihood of a US rate cut in March was placed by the markets at 57%, down to 75% a week before.

The dollar index increased by 0.9 percent to 103.4 yen last week, and at 148.12 yen, it has gained about 5 percent against the Japanese yen this year as fears over a potential rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) have also diminished.

Gold Prices

Due to investors’ desire for safety in the face of the Middle East war and their desire for more information regarding the US Federal Reserve’s future interest rate path, gold prices increased on Thursday.

After plunging to a five-week low in the previous session, spot gold increased by 0.7 percent to $2,019.12 per ounce by 2:06 PM ET (1906 GMT). US gold futures ended the day at $2021.6, up 0.8 percent.

FII and DII data

On January 18, provisional data from the NSE revealed that domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 5,977.12 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 9,901.56 crore.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

Thirteen stocks in all are included in the F&O ban list for January 19. In addition to Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Ashok Leyland, Bandhan Bank, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Indian Energy Exchange, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium Company, Polycab India, PVR INOX, SAIL, and Zed Entertainment Enterprises, the NSE has added Balrampur Chini Mills to the aforementioned list. From the aforementioned list, Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals was taken off.

SOURCE: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/stock-market-today-top-10-things-to-know-before-the-market-opens-214-12079491.html