The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open marginally lower as indicated by the Nifty Futures traded on Singapore Exchange. Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty Futures fell 0.19 per cent or 38 points to 17,966 amid mixed global cues.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were trading on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei up 0.07 per cent, Hing Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.12 per cent, Taiwan Weighted declined 0.1 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.2 per cent.
US Markets
Overnight, Wall Street ended with modest gains for stocks Thursday and the benchmark S&P 500 barely back into the green for the week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent after shifting between small gains and losses for much of the day. It’s now up 0.1 per cent for the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 0.1 per cent gain, while the Nasdaq rose 0.2 per cent as technology companies gained ground.
Smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market, sending the Russell 2000 index 0.7 per cent higher.
The choppy trading for stocks follows a four-week winning streak for the S&P 500. Investors remain concerned about stubbornly hot inflation and its impact on consumers and businesses. Financial results from big retailers and economic updates throughout the week have shown that the economy remains under pressure from inflation, but has several pockets of resiliency.
Gold and Crude Oil Price Check
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery rose $2.39 to $90.50 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for October delivery rose $2.94 to $96.59 a barrel.
Gold for December delivery fell $5.50 to $1,771.20 an ounce. Silver for September delivery fell 27 cents to $19.46 an ounce and September copper rose 5 cents to $3.63 a pound.
The dollar rose to 135.91 Japanese yen from 135.05 yen. The euro fell to $1.0091 from $1.0183.
Foreign Flows
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,706 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 471 crore.
Rupee Check
The rupee depreciated 19 paise to close at 79.64 against the US dollar on Thursday as a strong American currency overseas and rebound in crude oil prices weighed on the investor sentiment.
The US dollar traded strong against other Asian currencies after the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting hinted that it would pitch for aggressive interest rate hikes ahead to fight inflation.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 79.60 and moved in a range of 79.60 to 79.71 during the day.
Reliance Industries, ONGC: The government on Thursday hiked the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to Rs 7 per litre and brought back a tax on jet fuel exports, but slashed the levy on domestically produced crude oil in line with softening rates.
At the third fortnightly review, the government raised the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to Rs 7 per litre from Rs 5 a litre and brought a Rs 2 a litre tax on ATF exports, a finance ministry notification showed.
Earlier this month, the government had scrapped the windfall profit tax on ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) exports.
BPCL: Assam-based central PSU Brahmaputra Crakers and Polymers (BCPL) has proposed to invest Rs 450 crore for a naphtha import storage and dispatch facility in Haldia port area in West Bengal, a senior official said on Thursday.
BPCL is implementing the prestigious Assam Gas Cracker project—the largest petrochemical project in the northeast.
The company handed over the feasibility report of the project to Kolkata Port, now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP).
Embassy Office Parks REIT: American Balanced Fund on Thursday offloaded 2.9 crore shares of real estate investment trust Embassy Office Parks REIT for Rs 1,046 crore through an open market transaction.
According to the bulk deal data available with BSE, American Balanced Fund sold 2,92,62,468 shares of the company.
Ashok Leyland: Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle division of Hinduja Group's flagship Ashok Leyland, unveiled its double-decker electric bus on Thursday.
The introduction of these 66-seater buses will help Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) switch its current fleet of double decker buses to electric as it looks to make commuting green by 2028.
