GIFT NIFTY indicates gap down opening as crude tops $115 per barrel; Jio Platforms to list today

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap down opening on Wednesday, October 28, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures traded at GIFT City in Gandhinagar dropped 1% or 226 points to 22,617 as Brent crude futures surged above $115 per barrel despite positive cues from Asian markets.

The benchmarks ended Tuesday's rangebound session on a flat note as gains in Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid and Trent were offset by losses in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance.

The SENSEX ended 8 points lower at 73,599 and NIFTY50 index slipped 3 points to settle at 22,750.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.44%, China's Shanghai Composite index gained 0.31%, Hong Kong'a Hang Seng index advanced 0.16% and South Korea's KOSPI index surged 6.12%.

Overnight, US stocks ended higher on Tuesday powered by gains in Nvidia. Tech heavy Nasdaq index jumped 1.18%, Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.03% and S&P 500 index rose 0.6%.

Brent crude futures for delivery in December rose 1.25% to trade above $115 per barrel after Iran-backed Houthis claimed a missile attack on Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery, raising concerns about oil supply from the region.

Back home, Jio Platforms will make its stock market listing at 10:00 am today after it made the country's biggest share sale via initial public offering last week.