SGX Nifty Signals A Negative Start

SGX Nifty down 110 points. Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 113 points, or 0.62%, lower at 18,065, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Friday. Indian stock markets dipped sharply at open with Sensex shedding 300 points and Nifty down by around 100 points.

Oil prices rose on Friday on expectations of lower Russian crude exports from the Baltic region in December, offsetting worries that a looming Arctic storm across the United States could snuff out transport fuel demand growth this holiday season. Brent crude rose 88 cents, or 1.1%, to $81.86 a barrel. While U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $78.41 a barrel, up 92 cents, or 1.2% higher.

Gold prices were flat during early Asian hours on Friday, as traders’ awaited economic data due later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve’s rate hike stance. Spot gold was little changed at $1,793.22 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,801.20.

Wall Street’s major averages closed lower on Thursday with technology-heavy Nasdaq’s 2% drop leading losses as investors worried that data showing a resilient economy would lead the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep hiking interest rates for longer than feared.

Also read: Markets Continued Their Downward Journey

Asia markets fall as Japan’s core inflation marks highest in over 40 years.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin price today dropped with the world’s largest and most popular digital token trading almost flat with a negative bias at $16,810. The biggest token is down by three-quarters from its record high of $69,000. The global cryptocurrency market cap today remained below the $1 trillion mark.

Japan’s Nikkei share average dropped on Friday and headed for its worst week since mid-June, with chip related stocks leading the day’s decline in line with a slump on Wall Street overnight.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.5% as investors digested the growing number of Covid cases in China. The Shanghai Composite was flat. South Korea’s Kospi also fell 1.49%. Australia’s S&P/ASP 200 was down 0.81%.