GIFT NIFTY futures indicate a positive opening on October 9; key things to know before stock market opens

The Indian equity market indices are set to open higher on Friday, October 9, as indicated by the NIFTY futures trading positively at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, as investors focus on turnaround potential after the market crash the previous day amid a marginal pullback in oil prices and US Treasury yields.

As of the morning hours on Friday, the GIFT NIFTY futures were trading 0.17% higher at 22,423 points as of 7:44 am (IST), indicating a positive opening when compared to the previous close of NIFTY50 as investors focus on rebound potential.

NSE data showed that the NIFTY50 index closed 1.64% or over 371 points lower at 22,231.80 level after the trading session on October 8, in comparison to 22,603.05 points at the previous equity market close.

While NIFTY crashed below 22,200 levels intraday on Thursday’s market, the BSE SENSEX ended 1.44% or 1,045.46 points lower at 71,593.24, when compared to 72,638.70 points at the previous stock market close, as per the exchange data.

Over ₹10 lakh crore of investors' wealth was wiped out in a single day as the overall sentiment was dented, making traders cautious after crude oil prices surged to $105 per barrel levels.

On Friday, October 9, investors are expected to focus on IT stocks amid the selling pressure from Asian markets due to the latest US visa suspension programme for companies including TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Cognizant, among others.

While oil prices have retracted from yesterday's highs, the elevated energy rates are expected to keep investors on edge during the trading session, with more foreign investor outflows expected today.

Key things to know before market open

FIIs sell over ₹12,943 crore

NSE data showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold a total of ₹12,943.58 crore worth of capital market assets across the stock exchanges in a single day on Thursday’s market, maintaining their selling streak amid elevated bond yields.

The domestic institutional investors could not prevent the stock market crash on October 8, despite adding ₹10,703.11 crore worth of capital market asset buying support during the trading session.

Asian markets in red

The equity market indices in Asia were largely trading in negative territory as investors focused on the sharp rise in crude oil prices the previous evening amid reports of the latest tanker attack at the Strait of Hormuz.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.03%, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.70%, South Korea’s KOSPI was down 2.6%, and Singapore’s FTSE was trading 0.16% lower as of the morning hours on October 9.

While Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was bucking the trend, trading 1.09% higher due to major buying support from the investors powering the demand for heavyweight stocks. Xiaomi, BYD, and Galaxy Entertainment were among the top gainers.

Oil trades above $103/bbl

Global crude oil prices were trading above $103 per barrel (bbl) during the early market hours on Friday, October 9, as energy prices retracted from their previous evening highs of $105.02 per bbl.

On Friday’s early market, the benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading 0.8% lower at $103.35 per bbl as of 7:33 am (IST), in comparison to $104.28 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, as per Investing.com data.

The crude oil prices witnessed a sharp jump on Thursday evening due to the latest reports around a tanker being attacked off the northern coast of Qatar.

A Guardian report suggested that multiple projectiles reportedly struck a tanker transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, causing an unknown number of casualties. This comes at a time when the United States has called for a “meaningful” reduction in Iran's uranium enrichment capacity as a clause to potentially end the conflict in West Asia.

Treasury yields ease

Although at an elevated, near multi-year high level, the US 10-year benchmark Treasury yields eased marginally to 5.22% as of the market close on Thursday, the fixed income investors remained cautious amid global market uncertainty.

Media reports on Thursday showed that US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller called for more rate hikes to bring inflation down as rates have remained above the 2% target for around five years.

How did US markets end on Thursday?

The US equity market indices ended on a mixed note after the trading session on Thursday, October 8, as investors focused selloff in tech and chipmaking stocks, while energy prices counted the losses at Dow Jones which ended marginally higher.

The S&P 500 index closed 0.47% lower at 7,765.36 points after Thursday’s trading session, compared to 7,801.77 points at the previous Wall Street close, according to MarketWatch data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 crashed to end 1.39% lower at 30,725.81 points after the market session on October 8, in comparison to 31,160.08 points at the previous equity market close, as per the exchange data.

In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.10% higher at 51,231.64 points after the trading session on October 8, in comparison to 51,179.87 points at the previous US stock market close.