The Indian equity benchmarks are likely to open on a flat note on Friday as indicated by the Nifty Futures traded on the Singapore Exchange. The Nifty Futures of Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty Futures were little changed at 15,722.
Benchmark indices ended on a flat note on Thursday, with the Sensex dipping 8 points as fag-end volatility wiped out intra-day gains amid weak global trends.
The BSE benchmark Sensex slipped 8.03 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 53,018.94. During the day, it had gained 350.57 points or 0.66 per cent to 53,377.54. The NSE Nifty fell 18.85 points or 0.12 per cent to 15,780.25.
Asian Markets
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.62 per cent, Taiwan Weighted fell 0.85 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.45 per cent.
US Markets
Stocks fell again on Wall Street Thursday, closing out the worst quarter for the market since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.
The S&P 500 fell and is now down 21 per cent since hitting a record high at the beginning of the year, having entered a bear market earlier in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also fell.
Tech stocks and retailers and other companies that rely directly on consumer spending posted some of the biggest losses, as they have all year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell.
The S&P 500 fell 33.45 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 3,785.38.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 253.88 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 30,775.43.
The Nasdaq fell 149.16 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 11,028.74.
Crude Oil and Gold Price Check
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for August delivery fell $4.02 to $105.76 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for August delivery fell $1.45 to $114.81 a barrel.
Gold for August delivery fell $10.20 to $1,807.30 an ounce. Silver for September delivery fell 39 cents to $20.35 an ounce and September copper fell 7 cents to $3.71 a pound.
Foreign Flows
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,138 crore on Friday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,378 crore.
Rupee Check
The Indian rupee has been on a downward spiral for the last few days and on Wednesday, it hit a record low of 79.03 against the US dollar.
The rupee is down nearly 6 per cent since January this year. However, on Thursday, it managed to recover from its record low after gaining 13 paise to hit 78.90 against the dollar.
Hindustan Copper: State-owned Hindustan Copper on Thursday said that its board has suggested seeking shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 500 crore through debentures.
The board has also recommended taking the approval of the shareholders in the ensuing annual general meeting for raising funds by issue of equity shares through Qualified Institutional Placement.
Bharti Airtel: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has opted to defer the payment of AGR dues up to FY 2018-19, that are not tabulated in the Supreme Court's order, by up to four years.
It has retained the right to pre-pay instalment amounts and would not avail the option of conversion of the interest dues that would accrue into equity.
Indian Bank: State-owned Indian Bank on Thursday said it has raised the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rates (MCLR) across tenors by 0.15 per cent with effect from Sunday.
The benchmark one-year tenor MCLR -- against which most of the consumer loans are based upon -- will be 7.55 per cent as against 7.40 per cent presently, Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing.
SBI Life: The Paschim Banga Gramin Bank has joined hands with SBI Life Insurance for a bancassurance pact, officials said on Thursday.
The partnership will see all the branches of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank across West Bengal offer SBI Life’s range of protection, wealth creation, credit life, annuity and savings products, thereby increasing accessibility of life insurance solutions in the region, they said.
