GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a subdued opening on Thursday. Here is all you need to know before the market opens.

GIFT Nifty was up 25 points, or 0.10%, at 25,425 indicating a positive start for the domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Thursday. Previously, on Wednesday, the NSE Nifty 50 closed 41 points or 0.16% lower to settle at 25,377.55, while the BSE Sensex fell 131 points or 0.16% to finish at 82,948.

Key things to know before share market opens on September 19, 2024

US Fed Rate Cut

The US Federal Reserve slashed its key lending rate by half a percentage point, marking its first reduction since 2020. This move significantly reduces borrowing costs just ahead of the November presidential election. According to a statement from the Fed, the US central bank’s benchmark lending rate will range from 4.75% to 5%.

Wall Street

US markets closed on a lower note on Thursday after the US Fed cut interest rates by half a percentage point, which cheered investors initially. The broader market index, the S&P 500 closed 0.29% lower at 5,618.26. Similarly, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.31% to settle at  17,573.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 103 points or 0.25%, to end at 41,503.10.

US Dollar 

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading up 0.18% at 101.19 on Thursday morning.

Advance Tax Collection

Advance tax payments from corporates and personal taxpayers increased by 22.6% on September 17 to cross Rs 4.36 lakh crore, led by a 39.2% growth in personal Income-Tax receipts and an 18.2% rise in corporate taxes.

Crude Oil

WTI crude prices were trading at $70.51 down by 0.57%, while Brent crude prices were trading at $73.32 down by 0.45%, on Thursday morning.

Asian Markets

The Asian markets were trading on a mixed note on Thursday morning as investors digested the outsized rate cut by the US Fed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.48% at 37,282. The Korean index Kospi was down 0.91% at 2,551.85. Similarly, the Asia Dow was trading 1.16% higher at 3,537.50. The benchmark Chinese index, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.31% to 2,708.98.

FII, DII Data

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares net worth Rs 1,153.69 crore. Meanwhile, the Domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares net worth Rs 152.31 crore on September 19, 2024, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

Expert’s View

On Wednesday, investors turned cautious ahead of the US Fed policy rate meeting later in the day, as domestic benchmark indices faltered in late trades after scaling fresh highs in early trades due to heavy profit-taking in technology stocks. Barring banking & financial stocks, other sectoral stocks eased as several of them had rallied sharply in recent weeks, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities.

Bank Nifty Outlook

“On Wednesday, the Bank Nifty was clearly an outperforming sector and it was also one of the leading sectors which was responsible for supporting Nifty in today’s trading session. On expected lines, BN tested the upper band of our target zone of 52,750-52,800 in today’s trading session. On the downside, the support zone lies at 52,400-450 / 51,900-52,000 while the resistance is seen at 52,750-800 / 53,350-400 (Previous ATH),” said Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkX.