NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on March 16

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher on Monday, March 16, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad rose 68 points or 0.3% to 23,267 amid mixed cues from Asian markets.

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, closed in the deep red on Friday, March 13, extending their losses for the third straight day, amid a broad-based sell-off in the markets. Furthermore, investor sentiment declined amid a rally in crude oil prices, which crossed the $101 per barrel mark, as the war in West Asia intensified.

The rupee hit a fresh all-time low of 92.45 against the US dollar as FII outflows continue, further weakening the sentiment.

The 30-share BSE SENSEX crashed 1,470.50 points or 1.93% to settle at 74,563.92. The 50-share NIFTY tanked by 488.05 points or 2.06% to end at 23,151.10 on Friday.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading on lower on Monday as tensions in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, complicating ​an inflation outlook that should keep most central banks on pause at policy meetings this week, barring one possible hike, news agency Reuters reported.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.3%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.9% and South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.6%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower on Friday tracking surging crude price in the international markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26%, S&P 500 index declined 0.6% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.9%.

Crude oil and Iran war update

Crude oil price in the international markets surged above $100 per barrel as tensions in Middle East kept prices elevated.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz ​amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic, according to a report by Reuters.

With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle ‌East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹10,717 crore on Friday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹9,977 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹52,704 crore compared with shares worth ₹22,615 bought by them in February, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

Aviation turbine fuel represents a significant share of airlines’ operating costs. This sudden and steep increase will have a material impact on all airlines’ costs and networks, including IndiGo’s.

While offsetting the entire impact of this fuel price surge requires a very substantial adjustment to fares, IndiGo has introduced a relatively smaller amount as a fuel charge, keeping in mind the consequential burden on customers.

Funded by the Asian Development Bank, the project will establish a city-wide water grid platform for Chennai, enabling flexible water routing, improved pressure management, and greater operational reliability under both normal and emergency conditions. This project will be executed by a joint venture where WABAG will be the leader.

The project represents a major step toward strengthening India’s upstream solar manufacturing ecosystem and building a more resilient domestic supply chain for the country’s rapidly expanding solar sector.

CMS International Development and Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS, had obtained an exclusive licence for the drug from Zydus in 2020.

The city gas joint venture of Adani Group and France's Total Energies said the revision aims to pass on the benefit of lower upstream prices to customers while maintaining system stability and equitable distribution of gas during the current supply constraints.

The mining major's base issue of ₹2,000 crore was oversubscribed when it opened last week, prompting the company to exercise a ₹575 crore greenshoe option, taking the total issue size to ₹2,575 crore, they said.

The issue closes this week.

The three-year unsecured, rated and listed debentures were priced at a coupon of 8.95%, lower than the cost in the company's recent borrowings. The issue has been assigned an 'AA' rating by Icra Limited.

Trade setup

The hourly charts signal extreme pessimism with no respite of bounce back towards the 20 and 50 EMA levels. Furthermore, the hourly RSI level of 22 and ADX level of 43 indicate a strong bearish trend.

Looking at the bigger picture, the weekly charts of the NIFTY50 indicate a strong breakdown on the long-term charts. In the event of further correction, the long-term support remains at the weekly 200 EMA level of 21,900-22,000, which was previously breached during the 2020 COVID-19 crash.

On the options data front, the 23,500 calls hold the highest open interest, indicating a near-term resistance for the index. On the other hand, the 23,000 puts held the highest open interest with 71 lakh contracts, indicating a near-term support for the NIFTY50 for tomorrow’s expiry.