SGX Nifty up 50 points; here's what changed for market while you were sleeping

Bucking the trend among Asian peers, Indian equity markets look set for a positive start on Wednesday, thanks to a sharp decline in crude oil prices. US stocks, which resumed trading after a national holiday, settled mixed. However, a weaker rupee remains a concern. On the domestic front, corporate updates and Q1 earnings will direct stock-specific action. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 47 points, or 0.30 per cent, higher at 15,813, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Wednesday.

• Tech View: Nifty50 on Tuesday saw selling pressure as soon as it kissed the 16,000 mark. The index eroded entire intraday gains to eventually form a bearish candle on the daily chart, with a long upper wick, reflecting weakness at high. Analysts said the ongoing consolidation for the index may continue.
• India VIX: The fear gauge dropped almost a per cent to 20.79 level on Tuesday over its close at 20.97 on Monday.

Asian shares opened mostly lower
Asian stocks opened mostly lower on Wednesday after a mixed close on Wall Street as lingering recession fears caused a rout on European bourses. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down by 0.55 per cent.

• Japan's Nikkei plunged 1.39%
• Australia's ASX 200 dropped 0.43%
• New Zealand's DJ jumped 1.68%
• South Korea's Kospi shed 1.03%
• China's Shanghai declined 0.73%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.98%

US stocks settled mixed
Major stock indexes shook off an early slump and ended with meager gains on Wall Street Tuesday as worries about the economy continue to weigh on markets. Oil prices slumped, bringing the price of U.S. crude back below $100 a barrel for the first time since early May. Tech stocks staged a turnaround and ended higher.

• Dow Jones shed 0.42% to 30,967.82
• S&P 500 jumped 0.16% to 3,831.39
• Nasdaq rallied 1.75% to 11,322.24

Dollar continues to remain firm
The dollar stood tall on Wednesday, holding at a 20-year peak against the euro and multi-month highs against other major peers as higher gas prices and political uncertainty renewed recession fears and sent investors scrambling to the safe-haven currency.

• Dollar index pinned at 106.46
• Euro dropped to $1.0262
• Pound becalmed to $1.1965
• Yen was struggled at 135.5 per dollar
• Yuan exchanged hands at 6.7064 against the greenback

Oil recoups some losses
Crude oil futures rose nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday as investors pile back in after the heavy rout in the previous session, shifting their focus again to supply concerns even as worries about a recession mounted.

Brent crude futures rose $2.82, or 2.7 per cent, to $105.59 a barrel by 1222 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $2.46, or 2.4 per cent, to $101.95 a barrel.

FIIs buy shares worth Rs 1,296 cr
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 1,295.84 crore, data available with NSE suggested. However, DIIs turned net sellers to the tune of Rs 257.59 crore, data suggests.

Stocks in F&O ban today
No stocks are under the F&O ban for Wednesday, July 6. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit.

States borrowing cost remain high
The borrowing cost for the states continues to remain elevated, sniffing at the 7.9-per cent mark for the fourth consecutive week despite the average cut-off slipping marginally by 2 bps to 7.86 per cent at the latest auction of debt on Tuesday.

Nine states raised Rs 13,500 crore through state development loans (SDLs) at the first auction of the second quarter, which is nearly 4 per cent higher than the indicated amount for this week as Gujarat accepted an additional Rs 500 crore while the remaining eight states borrowed in line with the amount indicated in the auction calendar, according to an Icra analysis.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee fell by 38 paise to close at its lifetime low of 79.33 against the US currency on Tuesday due to a stronger greenback overseas and unrelenting foreign fund outflows.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond jumped 0.23 per cent to 7.39 after trading in 7.39 - 7.42 range on Tuesday.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 4.72 per cent on Monday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 3.00-4.95 per cent.