GIFT NIFTY futures indicate gap down opening; crude oil cools, Asian markets rise

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap down opening on Thursday, October 1, as indicated by NIFTY futures traded at GIFT City in Gandhinagar. NIFTY futures at GIFT City dropped 138 points to 22,570 despite positive cues from Asian markets.

The benchmarks declined for a third straight session on Wednesday as investor sentiment remained cautious on the back of rising bond yields in the United States and relentless selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

The SENSEX ended 49 points lower at 72,480 and NIFTY50 index fell 96 points to 22,620.

Asian markets were mixed tracking a drop in crude prices in global markets. Brent crude futures for delivery in December cooled down to $98 per barrel as investors assessed the outcome of US-Iran peace talks and the outlook for Middle East crude exports.

Japan's Nikkei surged 2.43% while while South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.11%.

Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed on account of holiday.

Overnight, most of the US stocks ended lower on the back of rising bond yields after data reports suggested the US economy was stronger than earlier thought.

The CME Fed watch tool showed a 34% probability of an interest rate range of 4%-4.25% on Wednesday, dropping from 52% on Tuesday. The sentiment was further bolstered as the Core PCE inflation stood at 3.4%, below 3.7% expectations. On the other hand, the US economy grew by 2.2%, above expectations of 1.5%, highlighting the strength in economic activity.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9%, S&P 500 index declined 0.25% while Nasdaq advanced 0.24%.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹10,148.41 crore while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹11,271.73 crore.

Oil marketing and aviation companies will be in focus after government on Wednesday cut the windfall gains tax on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), while retaining it at the same level for petrol for the fortnight beginning October 1.

The rate of special additional excise duty (SAED) along with road and infrastructure cess on the export of diesel will now be ₹16 per litre, down from Rs 20 a litre. SAED on export of ATF is set at ₹10.5 per litre, as against ₹15 per litre currently.

Duty on petrol exports has been retained at ₹0.5 per litre for the next fortnight.

The finance ministry, in a notification, said the duty hikes will be effective from October 1.

Shares of Adani Green Energy, Waaree Energies, Waaree Renewables, ACME Solar, Clean Max and Suzlon among others will be on investors radar after the government approved ₹1.86 lakh crore PM-DHARA Scheme to set up an intra-state transmission system with 50GWh battery storage to evacuate 135 GW of renewable energy.

The PM-DHARA stands for PM-Developing Harmonized and Accelerated Renewable-energy Access. This is significant in view of India's ambitious target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

According to an official statement, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the PM-DHARA Scheme.

This initiative will strengthen India’s Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) to enable evacuation of up to 135 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy across States/ Union Territories.