Market may open higher; Union Budget eyed

SGX Nifty:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Union Budget 2023 today, 1 February 2023. FM Sitharaman will reportedly try to play the balancing act by accommodating both the common taxpayer's demand to some extent and laying the ground for more pressing issues like job creation, GDP growth, fiscal deficit and capital expenditure push for infrastructure, manufacturing and other sectors.

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 89 points at the opening bell.

The GST collection in January surged to over Rs 1.55 lakh crore, the second highest-ever mop-up, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. GST collections stood at Rs 1.5 lakh crore in December 2022 and Rs 1.41 lakh crore in January 2022.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Wednesday meeting, as well as some economic data in the region.

China's factory activity in January signaled a further contraction from previous readings, albeit at a slower pace, marking the sixth monthly contraction in a row. The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for January came in at 49.2 on Wednesday, a slightly higher reading than December's 49.

Japan's factory activity logs another contraction in January, marking a third straight month of contraction. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index held steady at 48.9, below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction.

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday on the back of strong earnings and encouraging inflation data.

The Fed is expected to hike rates by one-quarter of a percentage point. Investors will be looking for clues about how much higher the central bank will take rates in the fight against inflation.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the frontline indices ended a volatile session with minor gains on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 49.49 points or 0.08% to 59,549.90. The Nifty 50 index added 13.20 points or 0.07% to 17,662.15.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,439.64 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,506.31 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 January, provisional data showed.

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