GIFT Nifty signals a muted start for D-Street. Here's the trading setup for today's session

IT companies will be in focus as bellwether TCS will report its first quarter earnings.

«We expect the market to consolidate in the higher zone and any dip is a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Corporate earnings will start tomorrow with TCS first to announce numbers. Thus, the IT sector is expected to remain in focus,» said Siddhartha Khemka, Head — Retail Research, Motilal Oswal

Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

Gift Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a muted start.

Nifty futures on the Gift Nifty traded 25 pts higher at 24,387.

Tech View
The near-term uptrend status of the market remains intact. But the market seems to have started signs of profit booking around 24400-24500 levels. However, a move above 24465 could negate this bearish setup. Immediate support is at 24150 levels, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said.

India VIX
India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, rose 1.07% to settle at 14.43 levels.

Global Markets

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:10 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures rose 0.6%
• Japan’s Topix rose 1.1%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 1.3%

Dollar falls
On Thursday, the dollar saw a slight decline with relatively muted activity as investors awaited a U.S. inflation report later in the day. Meanwhile, the British pound strengthened, reaching its highest level in a month at $1.28545 during early trading in Asia.

This increase followed a 0.48% rise from the previous session, prompted by