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

The Nifty50 which started on a strong failed to hold on to momentum and quickly pared gains on Friday and closed just above its crucial support level of 10,600 levels. The index slipped 0.7 percent for the week ended May 4.

Bears took control of the index from the word go and closed near its intraday low making a ‘Bearish Belt Hold’ kind of pattern on the daily charts. On the weekly charts, Nifty formed a bearish candle after closing in green for the past five weeks.

The index which broke below 10,650 took support at its 13-day exponential moving average (DEMA) to close at 10,618, down 61.40 points.

It opened at 10,700.45 which was also the intraday high and bears pushed the index near its crucial support placed around 10,600 to hit an intraday low of 10,601.60.

Investors are advised to stay cautious as the weekly chart pattern suggests a pause in momentum at least for the time being. A firm close below 10,600 could fuel selling pressure in the Nifty while a close above 10,700 could put bulls back in charge of markets, suggest experts.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,579.7, followed by 10,541.2. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,678.6 followed by 10,739.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 25,645.40, up 0.16 percent on Friday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,561.93, followed by 25,478.46. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 25,704.63, followed by 25,763.87.

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 rose more than 1 percent on Friday after weaker-than-expected US wage growth helped to calm investor fears about rising interest rates and inflation, though the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials still posted losses for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 332.36 points, or 1.39 percent, to 24,262.51, the S&P 500 gained 33.69 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,663.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 121.47 points, or 1.71 percent, to 7,209.62.

Asia shares lag Wall Street amid dollar strength

Asian shares crept higher on Monday after a tame reading on US wages lessened the risk of faster rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, although Sino-US trade tensions and a looming deadline for the Iranian nuclear deal argued for caution.

The early action was limited with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei was flat, while Australian stocks added 0.3 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to positive opening for the broader index in India, a rise of 5.5 points or 0.05 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,672-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Macron warns of risk of war if Trump withdraws from Iran deal

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that war could ensue if US President Donald Trump withdraws from the 2015 deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. “We would open the Pandora’s box. There could be war,” Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. But he added: “I don’t think that Donald Trump wants war.”

Trump is set to decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the Iran deal. Trump has all but decided to withdraw but exactly how he will do so remains unclear, two White House officials and a source familiar with the administration’s internal debate said on May 2.

Oil prices near 2014 highs as Iran tensions keep market on edge

Oil markets held firm on Monday, with prices near late-2014 highs as a decision looms on whether the United States walks away from a deal with Iran and instead re-imposes sanctions on Tehran.

Brent crude oil futures were at USD 74.94 per barrel, up 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were also up 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, at USD 69.79 per barrel.

Bank of England to keep rates steady after market U-turn

The Bank of England looks set to keep interest rates on ice this week, capping a sharp swing in the outlook for the British central bank, which might now struggle to convince investors that it will raise borrowing costs at all this year.

Unexpectedly weak economic data and cautious remarks from Governor Mark Carney have dashed what looked like near-certain expectations of a rate increase until a few weeks ago.

Dollar index at near four-month high after US jobs data

The dollar stayed near its 2018 peak early on Monday after US jobs and wages data did little to water down perceptions of strength in the US economy, though renewed concerns about trade frictions could cloud its outlook.

The dollar index stood at 92.609, near Friday’s high of 92.908, which was its firmest level since late December. The unemployment rate dropped to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent, although this was driven in part by Americans leaving the labor force.

India’s 7% projected growth rate ‘amazingly fast,’ can double economy in 10 years: ADB

India’s projected GDP growth of over 7 percent for the current fiscal is “amazingly fast” and if this momentum is maintained the size of the economy can double within a decade, Asian Development Bank (ADB) chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada has said. The country shouldn’t worry about not achieving 8 percent growth but focus on increasing domestic demand by reducing the income inequality, he said.

Growth is driven more by domestic consumption than exports, he added. The ADB has projected India to remain the fastest growing Asian nation with 7.3 percent growth in 2018-19, and 7.6 percent in 2019-20. The Indian economy is forecast to grow at 6.6 percent in the 2017-18 fiscal ended 31 March, slower than 7.1 percent in 2016-17.

FPI outflow hits 16-month high at Rs 15,500-crore in April

Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 15,500 crore from the Indian capital market in April, making it the steepest outflow in 16 months, due to surge in global crude prices and rise in yields of government securities here. This comes after an inflow of Rs 11,654 crore in equities in March and an outflow of over Rs 9,000 crore from the debt market during the same period.

As per the latest depository data, FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 5,552 crore from equities and another Rs 10,036 crore from the debt market in April, taking the total to Rs 15,588 crore (USD 2.4 billion).

Sebi panel proposes stricter norms for RTAs

A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) panel on Friday proposed tighter ownership and governance norms for registrar and transfer agents (RTAs).

According to a discussion paper released by Sebi, the panel, headed by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor R. Gandhi, felt that since RTAs manage sensitive investor-related data, there need to be stricter governance rules for them.

RBI to buy up to Rs 10K crore of government bonds on May 17

The Reserve Bank of India will buy government bonds worth up to Rs 10,000 crore on May 17, a move that could bring some relief to the bond market which is reeling under the pressure of rising yields despite a slew of regulatory measures.

The purchase of securities will be made under the central bank’s open market operations (OMOs), RBI said on Friday. The decision is based on the “assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs going forward”.

Govt set-up panels on cess on sugar, incentivising digital payment

The government today constituted two panels of state finance ministers for considering issues relating to the levy of cess on sugar and incentivising digital payments under the GST regime.

The panel, the highest decision-making body for Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, however, deferred a decision on levying a cess on sugar after opposition from some states.

BJP will waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh in Karnataka: Rajnath Singh

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said all crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh given to farmers in Karnataka would be waived when a BJP government comes to power in the state. Election to the 224-member Karnataka assembly is due on May 12.

Campaigning for the BJP, Singh claimed that over 3,800 farmers had committed suicide during the five-year rule of the Congress government in Karnataka. "Our party will waive all crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh given to farmers after coming to power in Karnataka," he said.

30 companies to report March quarter numbers

As many as 30 companies will be reporting their results for the quarter ended March later today which include names like ICICI Bank, Inox Leisure, Pfizer, Rane Holdings, Shalby, Tata Chemicals, and Tata Coffee among others.

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.

For May 7, IRB Infrastructure, Balrampur Chini Mills, PC Jeweller, Jet Airways and Just Dial are present in this list.