NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on February 20

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Friday, February 20, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad fell 17 points to 25,430 amid weak cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks posted their worst day since Budget Day on Thursday, February 19, on the back of a broad-based selling pressure as investor sentiment turned cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The SENSEX fell as much as 1,470 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 25,388 dragged down by losses in the index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank.

The SENSEX dropped 1,236 points or 1.5% to close at 82,498 and NIFTY50 index tumbled 365 points or 1.4% to settle at 25,454.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading lower as caution prevailed among investors after reports suggested that United States issued new threats against Iran, despite the conclusion of Iran-US nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with Iran saying that it reached an understanding with the US on the main “guiding principles” to resolve their disputes.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.7% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.12%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower while oil prices rose with worries about a potential conflict between the United States and Iran. S&P 500 declined 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.54% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.31%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹880 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth ₹596 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month bought shares worth ₹14,988 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

In a stock exchange filing, Novartis India said Novartis AG has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with WaveRise Investments Limited, ChrysCapital Fund X, and Two Infinity Partners to divest 1.74 crore fully paid-up equity shares, representing 70.68% of the company’s paid-up equity share capital.

This is because oil prices rose by around 2% on Thursday, reaching their highest levels in six months, as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran heightened concerns over potential supply disruptions in the oil-rich Middle East.

Brent crude futures rose $1.23, or 1.8%, to $71.58 a barrel at 1551 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.34, or 2.1%, to $66.53, according to Reuters.

Following a surge of more than 4% on Wednesday, Brent is on track for its highest close since July 31, and WTI is headed for its strongest settlement since August 1.

The inspection closed with NIL observations.

Trade setup

On the technical front, the NIFTY50 closed at the crucial trend line support levels of 25,400 after witnessing a bearish crossover on hourly charts. The index also formed a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily charts. Experts believe Friday’s closing below Thursday’s low level could intensify the bearish sentiment in the market and turn the trade setup bearish from mildly bullish.

On the options data front, the 25,800 calls witnessed heavy open interest addition and hold the highest open interest, indicating a strong resistance for the monthly expiry on 24th February. On the downside, the 25,000 puts witnessed heavy open interest addition, indicating a strong support for the NIFTY50.