What changed for the market while you were sleeping? 15 things you should know

The Nifty which started on a muted note weighed down by weak global cues managed to reclaim 10,200 in the last one hour of the trading session on Tuesday. The index made a bullish candle for the second consecutive day in a row.

The Nifty index is trading well above its crucial short-term moving averages which suggest that the momentum is likely to continue. For investors who went long on the index should keep a stop below 10,117 on a closing basis.

The next crucial resistance level for the index is placed near 10,300 levels but as long as Nifty trades above 10200, bulls are likely to have an upper hand, suggest experts.

The Nifty which opened at 10,186 slipped to an intraday low of 10171. Bulls charged on D-Street in the second half of trading session to push the index to its intraday high of 10,255. The Nifty closed 33 points higher at 10,245.

“Defying negative rumblings from the overnight global cues bulls have chosen to march ahead on Indian bourses after a brief intraday consolidation before signing off the day with a decent bullish candle formation,” Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist –Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,192.23, followed by 10,139.47. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,276.53 and 10,308.07.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 24,510.6 on Tuesday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 24,330.6, followed by 24,150.6. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 24,614.3, followed by 24,718.0.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

US Markets close higher

The three major US stock indexes ended higher after a choppy session on Tuesday as investors looked forward to earnings season while the S&P 500 pushed above a key support level, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 389.17 points, or 1.65 percent, to 24,033.36, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 32.57 points, or 1.26 percent, to 2,614.45 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 71.16 points, or 1.04 percent, to 6,941.28.

Asian stocks mixed as trade concerns simmer

Asian markets were mixed in early Wednesday trade as Japanese stocks tracked gains seen on Wall Street overnight on a bounce in large cap technology names. Japan's Nikkei 225 edged up by 0.42 percent and Topix crept higher by 0.16 percent. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index slipped 0.09 percent, weighed down by declines in the technology sector, CNBC reported.

SGX Nifty:

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 7.5 points or 0.07 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around 10,268-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

RBI policy meet kicks off today

The Reserve Bank is unlikely to yield to the India Inc's pressure for a benign monetary policy stance by keeping policy rates unchanged in its first monetary policy review of 2018-19 to be announced on Thursday against the backdrop of hardening global crude oil prices.

Most analysts expects RBI to keep rates on hold. Despite downside surprises in the recent inflation readings, the RBI is likely to stay hawkish. According to Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance fund manager Kunal Shah, MPC committee will highlight risks of inflation inching towards 5 percent mark in 2018-19 specially due to MSP hikes and gradual closing of output gap.

PV finance may grow at 16-17% to hit Rs 6.5 tn by Mar 22: ICRA

The passenger vehicle finance is expected to grow at 16-17 percent over the next five years to touch a portfolio size of about Rs 6.5 trillion by March 2022, from Rs 3.1 trillion as of March 31, 2017, says an Icra report.

For the period between April 2014 and March 2017, the overall bank PV loans grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 percent, while the non-banking finance company (NBFC) credit expanded at 12 percent.

Direct tax collections surge 18% to Rs 10.02 lakh cr in FY'18: FM

Direct tax collection has grown by 18 per cent to cross Rs 10.02 lakh crore in the fiscal ended on March 31, 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday. He said the number of income tax returns filed rose to 6.84 crore during 2017-18, compared to 5.43 crore filed in 2016-17.

This represents a 26 per cent growth in filing of ITRs. Of the total ITRs filed, 6.74 crore returns were e-filed. Between March 30 and 31, the last day of fiscal 2017-18, 56 lakh ITRs were filed.

Indian court orders tax dept to lift freeze on Cognizant's funds

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp said on Tuesday an Indian court had granted the company’s application to lift the Indian income tax department’s freeze on its bank accounts. The tax department had frozen the company’s bank accounts last month for allegedly evading a dividend distribution tax of more than USD 385 million following a share buyback, according to reports in the Indian media, Reuters reported.

The court asked the company to deposit 15 percent of the disputed tax, amounting to 4.9 billion rupees ($75 million) as security deposit till it decides on the case.

US escalates China trade showdown with tariffs on $50 bn in imports

The Trump administration on Tuesday raised the stakes in a growing trade showdown with China, announcing 25 percent tariffs on some 1,300 industrial technology, transport and medical products to try to force changes in Beijing's intellectual property practices, Reuters reported.

The US Trade Representative's office unveiled a list of mainly non-consumer products representing about USD 50 billion of estimated 2018 imports that would nonetheless hit supply chains for many US manufacturers. The list ranges from chemicals to TV sets, motor vehicles and electronic components.

Mexico slaps tariffs on steel pipes from Korea, Spain, India, Ukraine

Mexico has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of carbon steel pipe from South Korea, Spain, India and the Ukraine after completing an investigation into “unfair” trade practices, Reuters reported.

The investigation came at the request of a company and covered an analysis of the period from April 2013 to March 2016, the ministry said in a statement in the government’s official gazette.

Sebi eases algo trade rules in commodity exchanges

In a bid to relax algorithm trading norms at commodity derivatives exchanges, markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday raised the limit to process up to 100 orders per second by a user for such trade from the existing limit of 20 orders per second.

"It has been decided to permit exchanges to relax the limit on the number of orders per second from a particular ... User–ID up to hundred orders per second," Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular. The markets regulator asked exchanges to ensure that the limit it provides is subject to its ability to handle the load.

NSE and Colombo Stock Exchange ink pact to collaborate

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on Tuesday signed an agreement to explore opportunities to work together and foster a strategic relationship.

An agreement to this effect was signed at the CSE in Colombo by its chairman Ray Abeywardena and Vikram Limaye, managing director and chief executive of NSE, the NSE said in a statement.

Govt bond investment limit oversubscribed, FPIs bid for Rs 14K-cr

Government bonds attracted bids worth over Rs 14,000 crore from foreign investors in an auction today as against the debt investment limit of Rs 11,045 crore on offer. FPIs bid Rs 14,003 crore (USD 2.15 billion) for investment limits in government bonds as against Rs 11,045 crore (USD 1.7 billion) on offer, showed the data with the stock exchange.

Of the 69 bids made, as many as 60 were declared successful. The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in corporate debt securities up to the limit purchased.

PSBs wrote off Rs 2.41 lakh cr loans in over 3 years

Public sector banks (PSBs) wrote off Rs 2.41 lakh crore worth of loans between April 2014 and September 2017, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. "As per RBI data on global operations, public sector banks have written-off (including compromise) an amount of Rs 2,41,911 crore from financial year 2014-15 till September 2017," the minister said.

Writing off loans is done, inter-alia, for tax benefit and capital optimisation, he said. "Borrowers of such written off loans continue to be liable for repayment," he added.

Rupee jumps 17 paise ahead of RBI meet

The rupee made a strong recovery against the buoyant US currency to close at 65.01, surging by 17 paise on fresh bouts of dollar selling, seemingly unfazed by escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

A strong follow-through buying interest lifted the local unit to a new intraday high of 64.99 in mid afternoon deals before ending at 65.01, revealing a rise of 17 paise, or 0.26 percent. It briefly touched a low of 65.13.

Oil edges higher

Oil edged up on Tuesday, supported by a recovery in the equities market and on a technical bounce for crude after the biggest daily percentage drop in almost a year, but Brent futures stayed well below USD 70 a barrel. Brent crude futures gained 48 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at USD 68.12 a barrel. This followed a nearly 4 percent drop in Brent prices on Monday, the largest since June, Reuters reported.

ICICI Securities to get listed today

ICICI Securities will hit the bourses today, however it will be the first time in almost three years that a company remained largely undersubscribed and will list on the stock exchanges. The company has raised Rs 3,515 crore at the issue price of Rs 520 per share from its recently concluded initial public offering.

A total of 67,593,245 equity shares have been allotted at an offer price price of Rs 520 apiece, the upper end of the price band, aggregating to Rs 3,514.85 crore, ICICI Securities said. DSP Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, CLSA India, Edelweiss Financial Services, IIFL Holdings and SBI Capital Markets managed the issue.

Midhani shares to list on bourses today

The shares of Mishra Dhatu Nigam will list on BSE and NSE today. The initial public offer which was oversubscribed by 1.21 times, was opened for subscription from March 21 to March 23.