Will Nifty rise or fall below 18,600? See SGX Nifty, FII data, US shares, more before market opens The SGX Nifty recorded a gain of 0.25% during Friday’s early trading session, with a value of 18,807 indicating a positive opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex. On Thursday, snapping the three-day gaining streak, the domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex ended the day in the negative territory. Sensex fell 310.88 points to 62,917.63, while Nifty 50 gave up 0.35% to close at 18,688.10. “The domestic market is responding to the Fed’s hawkish commentary, which suggests the possibility of 2 more rate hikes in the future this year, although they have currently opted for a halt. Due to concerns about inflation persisting above their target range, Fed officials have increased their rate projections by 47.5bps for the end of 2023 to 5.6%. Despite weakness in the benchmark index, there is buying interest observed with the Nifty Mid-cap index trading at an all-time high,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were trading in the green on Wednesday, following positive cues from Wall Street. China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.13% in trade, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.07% while South Korea’s Kospi was down by 0.35%. The Taiwan Weighted index clocked gains at 0.33%. Oil prices edged lower in early trade on Friday, taking a pause from the previous session when futures gained steeply on optimism around higher energy demand from top crude importer China. Foreign institutional investors (FII) net purchased shares worth net Rs 3,085.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) net offloaded shares worth net Rs 297.88 crore on June 15, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. The National Stock Exchange has IEX, India Cements, L&T Housing Finance, Tata Chemicals, Delta Corp, BHEL, Manappuram Finance, ZEEL and Indiabulls Housing Finance securities on its F&O ban list for 16 June. According to the NSE, stocks are prohibited in the F&O sector when they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock. “The Bank Nifty index has experienced a breakdown on the daily chart, accompanied by significant trading volumes. This suggests increased selling pressure in the index.The index has breached the support level at 43700, which was expected to provide a level of price support,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities. “Nifty formed a bearish Engulfing pattern on June 15. This could be the first sign of caution after a long upmove. 18,555 could be the next support while the 18,778-18,794 band could offer resistance,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
The launched works involve rehabilitating the Galgamuwa Railway Station and upgrading the railway line from Maho to Anuradhapura, including additional tasks. Another project is the second phase of track rehabilitation from Maho to Omanthai (128 kms), funded by a $318 million Indian Line of Credit.
Transport Minister Gunawardena praised the efforts of Indian company IRCON in Sri Lanka and called for more cooperation in the railway sector. State Minister Shantha Bandara and officials from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport attended the event.
Railways is a priority for Indian assistance in Sri Lanka, with over $1 billion invested under five Indian Lines of Credit. IRCON has been involved in Sri Lanks since 2009. It has contributed to the modernisation of Sri Lanka Railways by reconstructing the entire railway line network in the Northern Province (253 Km) and upgradation of the Southern line (115 km), as well as improving safety through advanced signalling and telecommunication systems.
Despite Sri Lanka’s debt standstill in April 2022, India’s support under various Lines of Credit has continued.
(With PTI inputs)