Nifty to break losing streak or give up 18,100- Check US stocks, Asian markets, FII activity, SGX Nifty, more

Nifty to break losing streak or give up 18,100? Check US stocks, Asian markets, FII activity, SGX Nifty, more

The SGX Nifty gained 0.24% in trade on Thursday morning, signaling that domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex would open on a positive basis. Nifty futures were 43.5 points higher on the Singaporean exchange at 18,275.5. On Wednesday, Nifty 50 closed down by 100 points, giving up the 18,200 level at 18,181 while Sensex lost 360 points at 61,560.

“In response to weak global sentiments, domestic investors remained cautious as the US market grappled with recession concerns led by recent economic data indicating slowdown. The US retail sales figures for April reflected a decrease in demand, and ongoing debt ceiling negotiations further dampened market sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Asian Markets

Shares in Asia-Pacific followed Wall Street’s positive cues; the Asian markets were trading in the green. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.50% while China’s Shanghai Composite traded higher by 0.35%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained sharply, up 1.28% as Taiwan’s TSEC 50 was up 0.65% and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.4% at 0730 IST.

Crude Oil

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, easing on concerns over plentiful supply after surging nearly 3% during the previous session. Brent crude futures dipped 24 cents to $76.72 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 21 cents to $72.62. Both benchmarks rose nearly 3% on Wednesday on optimism over oil demand and U.S. debt ceiling negotiations.

FII/DII Data

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net bought shares worth net Rs 149.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) net sold shares worth net Rs 203.87 crore on May 17, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

F&O Ban

The National Stock Exchange has Delta Corp, Balrampur Chini Mills, Mannappuram Finance, GNFC and Punjab National Bank, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail and LIC Housing Finance securities on its F&O ban list for 18 May. According to the NSE, stocks are prohibited in the F&O sector when they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock.

Bank Nifty Outlook

“The Bank Nifty index continued to face selling pressure from a higher level and the index closed below the level of 44,000. The highest open interest on the call side is built up at 44,000 Ce stroke and a break above this will resume the up move. The downside support stands at 43,500 and a break below this will accelerate the down move,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivatives Analyst at LKP Securities.

Technical View

“Immediate support has been broken on the downside at 18,250 levels and the Nifty is now sliding down to another crucial support of 20 day EMA around 18,050 levels. The positive chart pattern like higher tops and bottoms continued as per daily time frame chart. The recent swing high of 18,458 on 15th May could be considered as a new higher top of the sequence. The present weakness could be in line with another higher bottom formation at the lows. Immediate support is at 18,050 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Levels to watch

“The Nifty Index saw a huge rise of call writers for tomorrow’s expiry right from the 18,400 call all the way to the 18,200 call level. Specific to [t0day’s] expiry traders, traders can initiate a short straddle at the 18,250 level with an offset put option of 18,150 assuming the market opens between the 18,200 and 18,240 level. If the market moves beyond the 18,300 level, a call side offset can also be taken,” said Rahul Ghose, Founder & CEO, Hedged.