Friday, 19 June 2020
Our View in a Snapshot
| NIFTY | USD/INR | |
| Expected Open | 10050 | 76.30 |
| Expected Range | 9800 – 10200 | 76.10 – 76.50 |
- Asia Pacific stocks mixed as investors monitor coronavirus situation
- Dollar heads for weekly gain as new infections sap confidence
- Oil prices rise on faith in supply cuts, demand recovery
Equity
Stocks in Asia Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade as investors continued to monitor the situation surrounding a recent uptick in coronavirus cases in some countries.
Mainland Chinese stocks were up in early trade, with the Shanghai composite up 0.4% while the Shenzhen component added 0.674%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped fractionally. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.21% while the Topix index shed 0.3%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.55%. Shares in Australia saw gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.97%. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded largely flat.
Our View on Stock Market
The Indian stock market is expected to open around 40 to 60 points down from yesterday close tracking asian stocks & global peers.
The Nifty futures are likely to open around 10,050.
The likely range for the day is 9,800 – 10,200
Currencies
The dollar headed for its best week in a month on Friday as a resurgence in coronavirus cases knocked confidence in a rapid economic recovery and drove investors to the safety of the world’s reserve currency.
Geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula, in the Himalayas and between China and its trading partners have also weighed, and the balance of risks kept morning moves modest.
The dollar traded near a two-week high against a basket of currencies and has gained about 0.4% for the week, its largest weekly rise since mid-May. That stalled the rally in the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars.
The Aussie was steady on Friday at $0.6854. The New zealand Dollar slipped to $0.6407, its lowest since Monday. The safe-haven Japanese yen firmed a fraction to 106.90 per dollar.
The British pound sat a fraction above a two-week low at $1.2403, under pressure as investors fretted that the Bank of England may not be planning enough bond buying to support confidence through 2021.
Our View on USD / INR
The Indian rupee is expected to open gap up against the U.S. currency and likely to weaken against dollar.
The rupee will likely be quoted around 76.30 to a dollar in early trades.
The Rupee is likely to trade in the Range of 76.10 to 76.50
OIL
Oil prices pushed higher in early trade on Friday, building on gains in the previous session, after OPEC producers and allies promised to meet their supply cut commitments and two major oil traders said demand was recovering well.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 23 cents, or 0.6%, to $39.07 a barrel , while Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $41.69 a barrel. Both contracts rose around 2% on Thursday.
Source : Reuters
