SGX Nifty indicates a flat opening for Indian markets

SGX Nifty is at 11380, down 2 points. For today, we expect mid-caps to see catch up as bears scurry for cover in the highest closing week in the last 5 months.

On Thursday, Nifty saw another day of consolidation with the index closing on a flat note. The Nifty IT index was weak as the Indian rupee hits almost 8-month highs. Nifty Banks, Realty, Metals, and Pharma stocks saw gains as markets witnessed sector specific rotation.

Global market: Asian markets opened in the green led by the Japanese Nikkei, which gained as the 'Yen' weakened against the dollar and saw Japanese exporters gain. Asian indices now at the cusp of further upside as bulls gain momentum and await positive earnings guidance going forward. Semiconductor stocks to see Taiwan and South Korea bode well as the US demand rises.

US Stocks: US stocks closed on a flat note as markets digested gains amidst talks that US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier XI to meet only in April. Markets factor in most positives and could see profit booking as run up maybe more excessive than expected. Oil prices also see modest declines with profit booking.

FII/DII Data: In yesterday’s trading session, FIIs bought 1483cr worth of stock in cash, whereas DIIs sold 818cr worth of stock. In the derivative market, FIIs bought 485cr of Index futures and bought 274cr worth of Index options. In the Stock futures segment, FIIs bought 342cr worth of stock futures and sold 79cr stock options.

FII View: In Index future segment, FIIs index future long/short ratio shifted from 1.4x to 1.5x on account of marginal buying to the tune 2896 contracts of index futures. However for a change, for the first time in the March series they reduced their speculative index options positions as across the board unwinding was seen in their long and short positions in index call and puts, hinting a consolidation of the market momentum.

FII	OI(000's)	% Chg	% Chg Since Expiry	Long/Short Ratio	Long/Short Since Expiry
Future Index Long	172	2	82	1.5	1.3
Future Index Short	116	(2)	42
Option Index Call Long	280	(5)	(80)	3.4	3.4
Option Index Call Short	82	(7)	(94)
Option Index Put Long	299	(7)	(83)	1.2	1.2
Option Index Put Short	254	(6)	(86)