The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indexes are expected to open flat on October 17, with the GIFT Nifty indicating an 8-point rise for the wider market.
In a tumultuous day on October 16, the major indexes closed on a negative note, with the Sensex sliding 115.81 points or 0.17 percent to 66,166.93 and the Nifty falling 19.20 points or 0.10 percent to close at 19,731.80.
According to the pivot point calculator, the Nifty may find support at 19,701, followed by 19,680 and 19,645. On the upside, 19,769 is an immediate resistance level, followed by 19,790 and 19,824.
GIFT Nifty
Trends in the GIFT Nifty suggest to a flat-to-positive start for India’s wider index, with a rise of 16 points, or 0.07 percent. The Nifty futures were trading at approximately 19,827.
US Markets
Major US market indices finished considerably higher on Monday, with investors enthusiastic about the start of earnings season, while transportation and small-cap stocks also rose.
Market traders were keeping an eye on the Israeli war in Gaza, but looked to be taking a more risk-on approach on Monday, with safe-haven gold prices falling.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 314.25 points, or 0.93 percent, to 33,984.54, the S&P 500 increased by 45.85 points, or 1.06 percent, to 4,373.63, and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 160.75 points, or 1.2 percent, to 13,567.98.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were robust in early trade on Tuesday, with the Nikkei up 1.5 percent, the Kospi up 0.77 percent, and the Straits Times up 0.8 percent.
HDFC Bank’s net profit in the second quarter increased by 50% to Rs 15,976 crore.
In its first report following its merger with Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), HDFC Bank posted a net profit of Rs 15,976.11 crore in the July-September quarter, up slightly more than 50% year on year.
Net profit increases 33.7 percent sequentially.
The bank’s net interest income increased by more than 30 percent year on year in the reporting quarter, reaching Rs 27,385 crore. It was Rs 28,617 crore in the same time previous year.
Jio Financial Services’ Q2 net profit increased 101% year on year to Rs 668 crore.
Jio Financial Services posted a net profit of Rs 668 crore for the July-September period in its first quarterly statement since listing on bourses in August, a 101 percent increase from the previous quarter, on October 16.
The non-banking financial corporation (NBFC) total income for the quarter was Rs 608 crore, spun out from Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. In the April-June FY24 quarter, the lender’s interest income was Rs 186 crore, down from Rs 202 crore.
The Dollar Index
The US dollar began the day on the back foot as investors assessed events in the Middle East and prepared for a flurry of speeches by central bank officials this week, led by Fed Chair Powell, to evaluate the outlook for monetary policy.
The yen was locked at the crucial 150 per dollar level, putting traders on the lookout for any signals of intervention by Japanese authorities.
The yen recently traded at 149.62 per dollar, having fallen to 150.17 on October 3, the lowest level in a year, before gaining some ground in a brief rebound.
Bitcoin falls when BlackRock announces that its ETF application is being reviewed.
Bitcoin reversed a 10% rise after BlackRock said that their proposal for an exchange-traded fund that invests directly in Bitcoin is still being reviewed.
“The iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF application is still under review by the SEC,” a spokeswoman stated. Bitcoin was up around 3% to $28,000 at 10:12 a.m. in New York on Monday, after briefly reaching $30,000.
On social media, speculation circulated that BlackRock, which submitted an application for a spot-Bitcoin ETF in June, had gained approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the initial such product in the US. This fueled a jump in the biggest currency, albeit the majority of those gains were immediately reversed as the rumor was disproved.
Gold Prices
Despite a decline in prices due to technical selling following a violent 3 percent surge the previous day as the raging Israel-Hamas war drove investors scurrying to the safe-haven bullion, gold maintained above the critical $1,900 limit on Monday.
By 0748 GMT, spot gold had down 1.1 percent to $1,910.70 per ounce, while US gold futures had fallen 0.9 percent to $1,924.20.
FII and DII data
On October 16, foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 593.66 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased equities worth Rs 1,184.24 crore, according to preliminary data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
NSE stocks subject to a F&O ban
The NSE has added GNFC and MCX India to its October 17 F&O ban list, while keeping Balrampur Chini Mills, BHEL, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Finance, India Cements, SAIL, Manappuram Punjab National Bank, and Sun TV Network. L&T Finance Holdings has been removed from the list.
