NIFTY50, SENSEX on September 30: US market cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open

The Indian equity markets are set to open on a flat note as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad rose 22 points or 0.09% to 24,707 ahead of monthly expiry of NIFTY50 and stock futures and option contracts. Analysts noted that Tuesday's session could see wild swings owing to expiry pressure.

The benchmarks ended lower for a seventh straight session on Monday dragged down by weakness in index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys and Reliance Industries. The SENSEX ended 62 points lower at 80,365 and NIFTY50 index declined 20 points to close at 24,635.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher following overnight gains on the Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, Taiwan Weighted climbed 1.41% and Singapore's Straits Times rose 0.2%.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.1% after Japan's factory output fell more than expected while retail sales declined for the first time in over three years in August, government data showed, heightening uncertainties about the economic outlook, news agency Reuters reported.

Although Tokyo struck a trade deal with Washington, analysts said that US tariffs could still affect Japan's production and the global economy, which is keeping the Bank of Japan on edge in terms of when to next raise rates.

Wall Street update

Overnight, US stocks managed to close higher led by gains in Nasdaq after investors bought heavyweight technology stocks and shrugged off the uncertainty of a potential US government shutdown and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials.

Investors are closely watching out for how talks between Republicans and Democrats pan out over funding that has raised the prospect of a government shutdown beginning Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.

Dow Jones rose 0.15%, S&P500 advanced 0.26% and tech heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.5%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹2,832 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹3,846 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹22,530 crore and for the calendar year they have been net sellers to the tune of ₹1,53,165 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

Those penalised include Ramesh Mansukhani, Chairman of Man Industries; Nikhil Mansukhani, Executive Director; and Ashok Gupta, former Executive Director and current CFO, according to an order passed by SEBI.

The major orders the state-run aerospace and defence electronics player received include EW system upgrade, defence network upgrade, tank sub systems, TR modules, communication equipment, EVM, spares, services, and others, it said in a regulatory filing.

According to the bulk deal available on the NSE, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund (MF) purchased nearly 32 lakh equity shares, or a 0.65% stake, in Pune-based Bharat Forge.

The shares were acquired at an average price of ₹1,217.32 apiece, taking the transaction value to ₹377.73 crore.

Details of the sellers of Bharat Forge's shares could not be ascertained on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Expiry day trade setup

The technical setup remains largely unchanged for NIFTY50 on Tuesday as the index remains under pressure. According to the experts, the swing low support trend line of 24,500 is the next crucial support for the index on the downside. Experts believe a monthly closing above 25,000 could help in regaining momentum for October.

On the options data front, the 25,000 calls hold the highest open interest, indicating a strong resistance for today’s expiry. On the downside, the 24,600 holds the highest open interest, indicating a crucial support for today’s expiry.