Indian indices are likely to open on a positive note on Wednesday following gains in Asian peers as well as US markets overnight. The SGX Nifty was also trading 47 points or 0.27 percent higher at 17,325, indicating a positive start for the Indian markets.
Indian markets snapped 3-day losing streak to end in the green on Tuesday led by gains in auto, pharma and PSU banking shares. Major buying in heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel also helped headline indices stay in the green. The Sensex ended 187.4 points higher at 57,808.6 and the Nifty50 rose 53.2 points to settle at 17,266.8.
Let's take a look at some key market cues before the market opens today:
US Markets
Big Tech gave major U.S. stock indexes a boost on Tuesday and European shares ended largely unchanged as a sharp fall in oil prices took the shine off bumper profits from oil company BP. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.06 percent to end at 35,462.78 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.84 percent to 4,521.52. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.28 percent to 14,194.46.
Asian Markets
Equities in other Asian markets begin the day on a stronger note led by a technology stocks boost on Wall Street overnight. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up 1.1 percent. Hang Send, Kospi, Nikkei were also trading in the green, up between 1-2 percent.
Oil
Crude oil prices nudge up following two sessions of losses, after industry data shows an unexpected drop in US crude and fuel stocks, offsetting concerns of a possible rise in supplies from Iran. Brent crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $91/barrel while the US WTI futures added 0.1 percent at $89.5/barrel.
SGX Nifty
At 8:25 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 47 points or 0.27 percent higher around 17,325, indicating a positive start for the Indian indices.
Rupee
The rupee edged lower by 5 paise to close at 74.74 against the US dollar on Tuesday as the stronger greenback, elevated crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows weighed on forex market sentiment.
Gold
Gold prices were steady on Wednesday near a two-week high scaled in the previous session, as inflationary risks and Russia-Ukraine tensions underpinned the safe-haven metal, despite the prospect of an aggressive rate hike by the U.S. central bank.
Earnings today
Firms like SAIL, PowerGrid, Tata Power, Aurobindo Pharma, ACC, Petronet LNG, Berger Paints, etc. are likely to report their December quarter earnings during the day.
RBI MPC Meet
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce the results of their meeting tomorrow in the RBI policy review. Experts expect the MPC to hike the Reverse repo rate by 0.25 bps. The meeting was postponed by a day in view of Maharashtra declaring a public holiday on February 7 to mourn the death of singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Dollar hits 1-month high to yen
The dollar hits a one-month high against the yen, boosted by a climb in Treasury yields to multi-year peaks overnight. Traders await US inflation data due this week for clues on the pace of Federal Reserve policy tightening. The euro continues to retreat from near a three-month peal to Japan's currency. A more hawkish tone from both the ECB and the Fed last week caught markets off guard, sending yields soaring.