What changed for the market while you were sleeping? Top 10 things to know

The Nifty 50 finally managed to decisively close above 10,600 levels on November 15 after consolidating for nine straight sessions. Gains were driven by banking & financials, auto and metals stocks.

The index closed 40.40 points higher at 10,616.70 and formed a small bullish candle on the daily charts.

Closing above 10,600 levels indicated it could rally further in the coming sessions, experts said.

India VIX fell 1.47 percent to 18.55 levels. However, VIX has to cool down below 16 zones to get the next leg of smooth upside rally in the market.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,567.3, followed by 10,517.9. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,656.3 and then 10,695.9.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 26,154.75, up 224.60 points on Thursday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,856.01, followed by 25,557.2. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 26,325.61, followed by 26,496.4.

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 climbs on hopes of easing trade tensions

US stocks rose on Thursday on optimism the United States and China could resolve their trade dispute, after a news report said Washington would pause further tariffs on Chinese imports.

The benchmark S&P 500 index gained 28.62 points, or 1.06 percent, to 2,730.2, snapping five days of losses. Shares of Apple Inc advanced 2.5 percent to end a five-day losing streak and help the technology sector climb 2.5 percent, the biggest gain among the S&P 500's major sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 208.77 points, or 0.83 percent, to 25,289.27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 122.64 points, or 1.72 percent, to 7,259.03.

Asia shares cling to trade hopes

Asian share markets fared better as hopes for a thaw in Sino-US trade relations gave Wall Street a fillip, though there were duelling reports on the prospects for an actual agreement. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was ahead 0.26 percent in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.2 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India, a rise of 34.5 points or 0.32 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,656-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Economy would have collapsed but for demonetisation: S Gurumurthy

RBI board member S Gurumurthy said on November 15 the economy would have collapsed but for the November 2016 demonetisation because high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were being used to purchase real estate and gold. In a shock decision, the government had demonetised old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 9, 2016 with, an aim to check blackmoney, terror financing and promote digital transactions, among others.

"In just 18 months prior to demonetisation, 500 rupee, 1,000 rupee (notes) rose to 4.8 lakh crore that is what funded the real estate and gold prices and we would had gone the same way, (as what happened in) 2008 in the US due to sub-prime lending.

"But for demonetisation, the Indian economy would have collapsed. It was a corrective measure," Gurumurthy said in a lecture at Vivekananda International Foundation.

Oil prices stable on expected OPEC cuts

Oil prices were stable on Friday, supported by expected supply cuts from OPEC but held back by record US production. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.5/ per barrel at 0132 GMT, up 12 cents from their last settlement. Brent crude oil futures were up 7 cents at $66.69 a barrel.

Rupee rallies to two-month high, closes below 72-mark

Continuing its recovery momentum, the rupee vaulted 34 paise to close at a two-month high of 71.97 against the US dollar on November 15 on robust foreign fund inflows amid low crude oil prices. Dealers said the strength in the rupee was also supported by increased selling of the greenback by exporters and banks.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened firm at 72.04 and rose further to 71.87 per US dollar. It touched a low of 72.18, before finally finishing at 71.97, up by 34 paise. The last time rupee breached the 72-level was on September 14, when it had closed at 71.84.

The rupee had gained 36 paise to end at 72.31 against the US dollar on November 14. The local unit has now gained 92 paise, or 1.27 percent, in three sessions.

Oct trade deficit widens to $17.13 bn; exports up 17.86% at $26.98 bn

India's exports rose by 17.86 percent to $26.98 billion in October compared to the year-ago month, according to the commerce ministry data. Imports during the month also rose by 17.62 percent to $44.11 billion, leading to widening of trade deficit to $17.13 billion.

The deficit widened despite a steep decline of 42.9 percent in gold imports to $1.68 billion during the month under review. The trade gap was $14.61 billion in October 2017.

Fitch keeps India's sovereign rating unchanged

Fitch Ratings on November 15 kept India's sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-', the lowest investment grade with a stable outlook, saying risks to macroeconomic outlook are significant. In a statement, Fitch said it expects India's real GDP growth to rise to 7.8 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, from 6.7 percent in FY2017-18.

But for the following two financial years, it said, the growth may decelerate to 7.3 percent due to "downside risks from tightening financial conditions, weak financial-sector balance sheets and high international oil prices".

"Risks to the macroeconomic outlook are significant, and include a drop in credit growth, resulting from further problems in the banking or shadow-banking sector," it said.

Gold imports dip 43% to $1.68 bn in October

Gold imports fell by about 43 percent to $1.68 billion in October due to reasons such as depreciating rupee and subdued demand, a development which could have positive implications for the current account deficit (CAD).

According to the commerce ministry data, gold imports had stood at $2.95 billion in October last year. Despite the contraction, trade deficit widened to $17.13 billion in October, compared with $14.61 billion in the same month last year. The imports mainly take care of demand of the jewellery industry. The exports of gems and jewellery grew by about 5.5 percent during the month to $34.9 billion.

3 stocks under ban period on NSE

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

For November 16, 2018, Adani Enterprises, Adani Power and Jet Airways are present in this list.