SGX Nifty futures point to lower start on D-Street: 10 things to know before opening bell

Indian shares are set to start lower on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, tracking negative moves across major markets around the globe. SGX Nifty futures, an early indicator of sentiment on the broader NSE index, suggests a lower start on Dalal Street. Indian indices closed weaker on Monday amid profit-booking, while Asian markets fared negative in early trade. 

Here are the top 10 things you should know before the opening bell today:

SGX Nifty Futures: SGX Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty index — were down 78 points or 0.4 per cent at 18,796.5 at the last count ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street.

Asian shares: Asian shares began the day on a weaker note in the absence of cues from Wall Street, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan quoting 0.7 per cent lower at the last count. 

Wall Street: U.S. markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday on Monday, but stock futures started the week lower as investors looked ahead to a holiday-shortened week of trading. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.26%, while S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.16%. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.15%.

Crude oil: Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after China cut benchmark lending rates less than some expected, sowing further concern over the oil demand outlook in the world's largest crude importer.

Sensex, Nifty: After coming within a kissing distance of an all-time high, the benchmark indices reversed gains on profit-booking in recently outperformed counters causing benchmark indices to settle in the red on Monday, June 19. At close, the S&P BSE Sensex stood at 63,168.30, down 216 points, or 0.34 per cent while the NSE's Nifty ended at 18,755.45, down 70.55 points, or 0.37 per cent.

Rupee closing: The Indian rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at 81.93 against the US dollar on Monday amid strong American currency against major rivals overseas. However, the inflow of foreign funds into local equities and a downward trend in crude price capped the fall in the domestic unit, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 81.93 and moved in the range of 82.01 to 81.90 during the intra-day.

Gold prices: Spot gold held its ground at $1,950.89 per ounce by 0027 GMT after dipping in holiday-thinned trade on Monday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.4% at $1,962.60.

China cuts loan rates: The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.55 per cent, while the five-year LPR was cut by the same margin to 4.20 per cent from 4.30 per cent.

Monsoon tracker: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy rainfall over south Rajasthan, north Gujarat, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, south interior Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim. However, light to moderate rainfall is predicted over Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

IndiGo order: IndiGo order airline announced that it has made a record order for 500 Airbus A320 aircraft. The massive expansion by India's largest airline comes as the aviation industry is witnessing more competition after the entry TATA Group.

HDFC Credila: HDFC Ltd has signed definitive documents for the proposed disinvestment/sale of approximately 90 percent stake in its education loan subsidiary HDFC Credila to a consortium of private equity firms BPEA EQT and ChrysCapital for around Rs 9,060 crore, the mortgage lender said in a disclosure to the stock exchanges. 

With inputs from agencies