From global cues to Q4 results, 10 things to know before stock market opens today

Indian equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex are likely to start Thursday’s session in the red amid weakness across other major markets around the globe. The indices finished a volatile session on Wednesday marginally lower, taking a breather after their recent upmove.

Analysts say the focus has shifted once again to global cues as the India Inc earnings season draws to a close.

“In between, sectors like banking and financials, which have considerable weight in the index, are largely dominating the move. We feel participants should limit positions and wait for further clarity,” according to Ajit Mishra, VP-Technical Research at Religare Broking.

Stay tuned on Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of the top 10 things to know that could impact the market:

• SGX Nifty futures: Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — were down 24 points or 0.1 per cent at 18,260 at the last count ahead of the opening bell on Dalal Street.
• Wall Street: Overnight in the US, the three main equity indices ended lower as talks between the White House and Republican representatives on raising the US debt ceiling dragged on without a deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255.6 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 32,799.9, the S&P 500 lost 30.3 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,115.2 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 76.1 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 12,484.2.
• Asian markets: Equities in most other Asian markets were briefly in the red in early hours on Thursday, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan quoting 0.6 per cent lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI each were down 0.5-1 per cent though China’s Shanghai Composite was flat with a positive bias.
• Rupee vs dollar: The rupee appreciated by 17 paise to settle at 82.68 against the US dollar on Wednesday supported by foreign capital inflows.
• Dollar index: The US dollar hit a fresh two-month high against a basket of peers on Wednesday, bolstered by recent signs of a resilient US economy while unease over US debt ceiling talks kept investors moving to safe havens. The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six major peers other than the rupee, hit 103.91 during the session, its highest since March 20. 
• Crude oil: Crude oil prices rose two per cent on Wednesday, after a large and unexpected drawdown in US crude inventories, and a warning from the Saudi energy minister that raised the prospect of further reduction in output by the OPEC+ grouping of top producers. Brent crude futures rose by $1.5, or two per cent, to settle at $78.4 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained by $1.4, or two per cent, to $74.3 a barrel.
• Fed FOMC Minutes: Federal Reserve officials "generally agreed" last month that the need for further interest rate increases "had become less certain," with several saying that the quarter-percentage-point hike they approved might be the last, according to minutes of the May 2-3 meeting released on Wednesday. Others cautioned the US central bank needed to keep its options open given the risks of persistent inflation, which is still running at more than two times the Fed's 2 per cent target.
• US debt ceiling update: Negotiators for Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy held what both sides called productive talks on Wednesday to try to reach a deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for the US administration and avoid a catastrophic default.
• Q4 results: Index heavyweights such as Hindalco Industries along with LIC, Cummins India, Nalco and India Cements announced their January-March earnings on Wednesday. Companies such as Page Industries, SAIL, Vodafone Idea and IEX are expected to report their Q4 numbers on Thursday.
• FII, DII flow: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased Indian shares worth Rs 1,185.8 crore on Wednesday whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers to the tune of Rs 300.9 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

(With inputs from agencies)