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

The Nifty witnessed a breakout in morning trade which pushed the index above 10640 and then 10700 levels in trade on Friday. However, the index failed to close above this level making a bullish pattern similar to ‘Opening Marubozu’ candle on the daily charts.

The index opened at 10,651 and slipped to an intraday low of 10,647.55. It hit an intraday high of 10,719.80 but then pared gains and closed at 10,692.30.

After a strong gap up opening, Nifty decisively closed above its critical resistance point placed around 10630 levels which has now opened fresh targets towards 10900 for May series, suggest experts. Traders can keep a stop below 10600 levels for all long positions.

“It was heartening to see Nifty50 starting the new series on firm footing with a gap up opening above the small 4-day old congestion zone between 10638 – 514 levels. In this process, it also registered a Opening Marubozu candlestick formation, in which low and opening price for the day remains same, suggesting buying pressure on the indices from the word go,” Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist – Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

India VIX fell down by 0.19 percent at 12. Lower volatility suggests that bulls are holding the grip on the market. Volatility has been falling for last four consecutive weeks.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,653.27, followed by 10,614.23. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,725.57 and 10,758.83.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 25,394.6. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,135.7, followed by 24,876.8. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 25,547.5, followed by 25,700.4.

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 Street flat as earnings offset inflation jitters

Wall Street closed nearly flat on Friday as inflation worries and struggling technology and energy stocks were offset by an advance in the consumer discretionary sector led by Amazon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.15 points, or 0.05 percent, to 24,311.19, the S&P 500 gained 2.97 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,669.91 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.12 points, or 0.02 percent, to 7,119.80.

Asian shares edge higher

Asian shares rose again on Monday as tensions in the Korean Peninsula eased and first-quarter earnings shone, although some investors pondered whether this sunny outlook could dim in the near future. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.1 percent following a jump of more than 1 percent on Friday. South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11 gained 0.5 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India, a rise of 17 points or 0.16 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,747-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

North Korea to dismantle its nuclear test site in May: South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during Friday’s summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he would close the country’s nuclear test site next month, Moon’s office said on Sunday.

New US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said he had a “good conversation” with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un during his visit to Pyongyang, adding Kim was “prepared to... lay out a map that would help us achieve” denuclearisation.

Economic growth likely to hit 7.5% in FY19: Niti VC Rajiv Kumar

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar expects India's economy to grow by at least 7.5 percent in 2018-19 on the back of improvement in investment cycle and capacity utilisation. The government should now concentrate on consolidating the reform initiatives undertaken in the last 47 months, he added.

"The economic environment is extremely positive and optimistic. The investment cycle has certainly turned upwards. The capacity utilisation has risen to 74 percent. The inflation is still well under the target. "Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is increasing and I expect rate of growth to be at least 7.5 percent in 2018-19," Kumar said. The economy is expected to grow at 6.6 percent in 2017-18.

China official factory PMI eases to 51.4 in April, beats forecasts

Growth in China’s manufacturing sector eased in April, as factory-gate prices stayed subdued in a possible sign of slowing domestic demand, while a simmering Sino-US trade row heightened risks for the industrial sector.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Monday fell to 51.4 in April, from 51.5 in March, and remained well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

US Fed likely to hold interest rates amid market sensitivity

Markets do not expect the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this week, as policymakers take time to assess how much pressure is building in world’s largest economy.

The central bank’s federal open market committee, which is due to begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday, has signaled it will key lending rate at least twice more this year after kicking it up a notch last month.

RBI liberalises ECB norms; more access to cheaper funds

In a bid to facilitate cheaper access of overseas funds Reserve Bank of India further liberalised External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy by including more sectors in the window.

“It has been decided to increase the ECB Liability to Equity Ratio for ECB raised from direct foreign equity holder under the automatic route to 7:1. This ratio will not be applicable if total of all ECBs raised by an entity is up to USD 5 million or equivalent,” RBI said in a late night notification.

India’s GDP likely to grow 7.5% in FY19: Deutsche Bank

The Indian economy is witnessing a “cyclical upswing” and the country is likely clock a GDP growth of 7.5 percent this financial year, says a Deutsche Bank research report.

“Our current growth forecast for 2018-19 is 7.5 percent (RBI estimate is 7.4 percent), which will mark an improvement from the 6.7 percent likely outturn in 2017-18,” the global financial services major said.

RIL reports $1.4 billion in net profit

Reliance Industries Ltd reported results which were largely in-line with Street estimates. The consolidated net profit rose by 17.3 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 9,459 crore or USD 1.14 billion which was almost similar to a CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 9,498 crore. Revenue for 4Q FY18 grew by 134.1 percent on a YoY basis to Rs24,183 crore from Rs10,332 crore. Reliance Retail witnessed stellar performance across all consumption baskets during the period.

Operating profit before other income and depreciation increased by 51 percent to Rs18,469 crore (USD 2.8billion) from Rs12,233 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Sebi extends deadline for new foreign investment limits monitoring system

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday extended deadline till May 18 for putting in place a new system for depositories to monitor the foreign investment limits in listed Indian companies. The earlier deadline was May 1.

Besides, the regulator has given more time to companies to provide the necessary data to the depositories. Now, they need to submit the data by May 15 from the earlier deadline of April 30. Under the new rules, the system for monitoring the foreign investment limits in listed Indian companies will be implemented and housed at the depositories - NSDL and CDSL.

Forex reserves fall $2.49 bn to $423.58 bn

After touching a life-time high, the country's foreign exchange reserves fell by a whopping USD 2.499 billion to USD 423.582 billion in the week to April 20 due to a decrease in foreign currency assets, RBI data showed.

In the reporting week, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, declined by USD 2.492 billion to USD 398.485 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF also declined by USD 4 million to USD 2.075 billion, the apex bank said.

Dollar off three-and-a-half-month highs after US 10-year yield slips

The dollar held steady against a basket of currencies on Monday, having pulled back from a 3-1/2-month high set late last week, pressured by a decline in the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield. The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 91.519, steady on the day but down from Friday’s high of 91.986.

The US 10-year yield has since come off that peak and fell 3 basis points on Friday to 2.957 percent, down from a four-year high of 3.035 percent struck on Wednesday.

FPIs withdraw $2.4 bn on crude price, US-China trade relations

Foreign investors have pulled out more than Rs 15,500 crore from the Indian capital markets so far this month due to weak rupee, surge in global crude prices and uncertainty over US-China trade relations. This comes following an inflow of Rs11,654 crore in equities last month and an outflow of over Rs 9,000 crore from the debt markets.

31 companies to report March quarter numbers

As many as 31 companies will be reporting their results for the March quarter which include names like Ceat, Container Corp, Dewan Housing Finance, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Opto Circuits, Prakash Industries etc. among others.

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