GIFT Nifty up 60 points; here's the trading setup for today's session

Equities closed marginally higher on Thursday as the GST Council approved centre’s proposal for a simplified two-slab GST structure of 5% and 18%

"While headwinds persist from continued FII outflows and uncertainty around the US trade deal, the recent GST reforms are expected to boost consumer demand, support corporate earnings, and lift sentiment, providing a strong tailwind ahead of the festive season. We expect the market to gradually move higher," said Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal.

STATE OF THE MARKETS
GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a positive start
GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded higher by 59 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 24,882.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Friday.

• Tech View: A decisive move above 24,750 could provide the strength needed for the Nifty to move towards 25,000. A sustained move above 25,000 could trigger a further rally. On the other hand, failure to close above 24,750 within the next two to three days may lead to renewed selling pressure on the index.
• India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, fell 0.7% to settle at 10.85 levels.

US stocks end higher
The S&P 500 posted a closing record high on Thursday as labor market data did not change expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, a day ahead of the key U.S. monthly jobs report.

• Dow up 0.8%,
• S&P 500 rises 0.8%,
• Nasdaq gains 1%

Asian shares gain
Asian shares posted early gains Friday after stocks and bonds rallied on Wall Street as further signs of a cooling labor market reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month.

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 9:22 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures rose 0.2%
• Japan’s Topix rose 0.9%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2%

Oil eases
Oil prices drifted down in early trading on Friday for the third straight day as investors awaited an OPEC+ meeting this weekend that will consider further output hikes.

Stocks in F&O ban today

1) RBL Bank

Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs 106 crore on Thursday. DIIs, meanwhile, were net buyers at Rs 2,233 crore.

Rupee
The rupee fell 10 paise to close at 88.12 against the US dollar on Thursday amid sustained foreign fund outflows and a stronger greenback.

FII Data
The position of FIIs in the futures market increased from a net short of Rs 1.82 lakh crore on Wednesday to Rs 1.88 lakh crore on Thursday.