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

The Nifty index remained volatile from the word go in the morning on Wednesday and breached its crucial psychological support level placed at 10600 towards the close of the trade.

The Nifty witnessed selling pressure post opening but managed to retrace about 50 percent of its intraday losses which made a ‘Hanging Man’ kind of pattern on the daily charts.

The market witnesses a significant selloff in the trading session just like we saw in Wednesday’s trading session but still manages to recoup some of the losses and closes below the opening level.

The index opened at 10612.40 which was similar to its intraday high of 10612.60. Bears pushed the index below 10600 to hit an intraday low of 10536 before closing at 10,570, down. The index closed below its 5-days exponential moving average (DEMA) placed at 10572.

Traders are advised to remain cautious ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday as there could be wild movements on either side. But, as long as 10500 holds, bulls have nothing to fear, for now.

India VIX moved up by 5.14 per cent at 12.50. On the options front, maximum Put OI is seen at 10500 followed by 10400 strikes while maximum Call OI is seen at 10700 then 10600 strikes.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,533.8, followed by 10,497.1. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,609.9 and 10,649.3.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 24,814.4. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 24,701.53, followed by 24588.67.

On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 24,960.33, followed by 25,106.27.

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.

Wall St ekes out small gain as earnings offset cost worries

Wall Street limped into positive territory on Wednesday on optimism over a spate of upbeat earnings that was nearly offset by jitters over rising US bond yields and corporate costs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.7 points, or 0.25 percent, to 24,083.83, the S&P 500 gained 4.84 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,639.4 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.62 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,003.74.

Asia stocks edge up

Asian stocks edged up on Thursday as robust corporate earnings helped Wall Street quell concerns over a surge in US bond yields, while the dollar hovered near three-month highs against a basket of currencies.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.09 percent. Australian stocks were flat and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.4 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.5 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 12 points or 0.12 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,580-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

India is seeing deal activity comparable to 2007 levels: KPMG

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in India surged in 2017. Deal values increased by 53.3 percent while deal volume rose by 2.5 percent, fuelled by a wave of consolidation across sectors.

With deal activity globally touching the peak levels of 2007, these are interesting times for deal advisers for India as well, where valuations continue to be high despite some moderation in the recent months.

Foreign investors pulled $657 mn out of Indian equities in April

India stands alone among BRIC nations to see foreign fund outflows from its equity markets in April, with USD 657.5 million leaving its shores during the month so far on concerns of high valuations. In Asia, India faced the second-worst outflows after Taiwan, which saw outflows of USD 2.7 billion. Citigroup and CLSA have cut their targets for Sensex and Nifty for 2018, citing earnings downgrades and macro concerns, respectively.

Cabinet nod to Brics pact on medical products

The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave its approval to a slew of decisions, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation among Brics nations in regulating medical products.

The MoU is expected to facilitate better understanding on regulatory aspects and could help boost Indian export of medical products to the other Brics countries —Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. The government has long been encouraging the small and medium enterprise sector to increase exports in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

India shows jobs growth as 3.11 mn join EPF in 6 months

India added 472,075 employees to the state-run social security fund in February, after adding 604,557 in January, new data on payrolls released on Wednesday showed, giving a guide to how many new jobs are being created in the non-farm sector.

“The data shows there was a good increase in jobs every month in the last six months which will now help fill the missing link for policy-making,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economist at the country largest lender, the State Bank of India.

GST Council to meet on May 4, simplifying returns on agenda

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-chaired goods and service tax (GST) Council will meet on May 4 to discuss a simpler return form and the amendments required in the indirect tax regime rules.

It will mull over the proposal of converting GSTN into a government company. A decision on return simplification could be on the cards with the Sushil Modi-led Group of Ministers putting before the Council the three models of new return form for discussion, an official said.

RBI to hike rates by 25 basis points in June policy: Deutsche Bank

Reserve Bank of India is expected to hike key policy rates by 25 basis points in June, largely on account of sharp increase in crude oil prices over the last few months, says a Deutsche Bank Research report. Following the surge in global crude oil prices in recent weeks, the RBI may now prefer to opt for a rate hike sooner than later, the report said.

"We now see RBI hiking the repo rate by 25 bps in June itself (to 6.25 percent), reversing the 25 bps rate cut of August last year, and likely hiking another 25 bps by the end of this calendar year or early next year," it said.

Bank credit grows at 11.52%, deposits at 7.96%

Banks' credit rose 11.52 percent year-on-year to Rs 84,78,459 crore in the fortnight ended April 13, RBI data showed. In the same period ended April 14, 2017, banks advances were at Rs 76,01,970 crore.

In the previous fortnight ended March 30, 2018, banks loans grew by 10.32 percent to Rs 86,50,714 crore from Rs 78,41,466 crore in the period ended March 31.

Indian rupee crashes 52 paise to 14-month low against US dollar

The rupee on wednesday nosedived 52 paise to hit a 14-month low of 66.90 against the US dollar, the third biggest single-day fall for the domestic currency this year, amid surging crude prices coupled with headwinds on the macro-economic front in form of widening trade deficit. This was the lowest closing for the rupee since February 22, 2017.

Sebi lifts market ban on 34 entities in Dhyana Finstock case

Sebi on Wednesday lifted the ban imposed on 34 entities as it did not find any adverse evidence against them in a case pertaining to manipulation in Dhyana Finstock Ltd shares. Violations of PFTUP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) were not observed against these entities, the regulator said in an order.

Oil prices rise on concerns over supply disruptions

Oil prices rose on Thursday, lifted by concerns over supply disruptions in Venezuela and the Middle East as well as by strong demand. Brent crude oil futures were at 74.44 per barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.5 percent, at USD 68.36 per barrel.

27 companies to report March quarter results today

As many as 27 companies are likely to report March quarter results today including names like AU Small Finance, Axis Bank, Biocon, Rallis India, Reliance Capital, SBU Life Insurance Company, Tata Elxsi, and Yes Bank among others.

Gold hovers near 5-week lows amid dollar pressure, rising yields

Gold prices on Thursday stayed close to five-week lows hit in the previous session, pressured by a stronger dollar, which hovered near more than three-month highs, and a rise in US Treasury yields. Spot gold was little changed at USD 1,323.34 per ounce. The yellow metal on Wednesday hit a low of USD 1,318.51 an ounce, its lowest since March 21.

5 stocks under ban period on NSE

Security in ban period for the next day's trade under the F&O segment includes companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.