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

Five days of a successive rally in the Indian markets pushed Nifty beyond its crucial resistance levels of 10,985-11,000 on February 6. The index made a long bullish candle for the 5th consecutive day in a row.

Nifty 50 opened at 10,965 and slipped marginally to 10,962 before breaking above 11,000 levels. It touched an intraday high of 11,072 before closing the day at 11,062, up 128 points from its previous close of 10,934.35.

The index managed to surpass crucial resistance levels in a single trading session and is on track to hit a higher target towards 11,400, experts said. India VIX fell 0.95 percent to 15.63 levels which should comfort bulls.

Bank Nifty comparatively remained range bound but managed to extend its gains towards 27,400 zones. It formed a Bullish Candle and entered the crucial hurdle zone of 27,500-27,750.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,992.6, followed by 10,922.7. If the index starts moving upward, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,102.5 and then 11,142.5.

Traders are advised to remain long with a stop below 10,980 levels on a closing basis and look for a bigger target placed around 11,400 levels, experts said.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 27,402.3. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 27,321.36, followed by 27,240.43. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 27,455.96, followed by 27,509.63.

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 rally pauses after underwhelming revenue forecasts

US stocks edged lower on Wednesday as videogame makers gave disappointing revenue forecasts and investors awaited developments on US-China trade relations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.22 points, or 0.08 percent, to 25,390.3, the S&P 500 lost 6.09 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,731.61 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 26.80 points, or 0.36 percent, to 7,375.28.

Asian shares doze in data lull

Asian share markets were in a muted mood on Thursday and looked set for a sleepy session with China still on holiday and no major economic data on the diary.

dipped 0.2 percent, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.06 percent in very thin trade.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 19 points or 0.17 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,086-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

RBI MPC may hold rates, but with a strong dovish tilt

The outcome of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting later this week, the first under governor Shaktikanta Das, will be a close call. With the recent softening in inflation, weaker global growth momentum, lower commodity prices and a likely dovish path for global central banks, it is fair to expect Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) policy commentary to adopt a dovish tone.

We expect the MPC to change the stance of monetary policy to “neutral” from “calibrated tightening” and dovish signals from the MPC voting pattern (likely divergent voting) will likely shift the debate rather swiftly to “hold vs cut” from “hold vs hike” just four months back.

However, while the MPC outcome remains a close call, and the risks have tilted towards easing, we feel the MPC might not cut the repo rate in the February meeting itself for a set of reasons.

US oil prices dip on rising crude inventories, record output

US oil prices dipped on Thursday after US crude inventories rose and as production levels in the country stayed at record levels, but OPEC-led supply cuts and the crisis in Venezuela supported markets.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.82 per barrel at 0036 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.35 percent, from their last settlement.

Cabinet approves amendments to Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved proposals to amend the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018. This will further strengthen the Bill in its objective to effectively tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities, and prevent such schemes from duping the poor, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The Bill provides for severe punishment and heavy pecuniary fines to act as deterrent, he said. It has adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally, Prasad added.

Rupee ends flat at 71.56 per dollar

The rupee on Wednesday ended almost flat at 71.56 per US dollar as participants preferred to wait for the Reserve Bank's interest rate decision for further cues. The domestic currency has been trading in a narrow range ahead of RBI's monetary policy meeting outcome, scheduled for February 7.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee moved between 71.68 to 71.49 during the session, before finally ending at 71.56, showing a gain of just 1 paise.

Mazagon Dock to raise Rs 500-600 cr through IPO

State-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is likely to raise Rs 500-600 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) by the end of this month, a senior company official said Wednesday. The public sector undertaking had in August last year received Sebi's go ahead to float the initial share sale.

"We are targeting to raise Rs 500-600 crore through the IPO and we are expecting to hit the markets by end of this month," Commodore Rakesh Anand, chairman and managing director of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, told PTI.

The offer will also have a portion for employees, which will not exceed 5 per cent of the post offer paid up equity share capital of the company.

180 companies to report Q3 numbers today

As many as 180 companies on the BSE will declare their results for the quarter ended December which include names like Arvind, Apex Frozen, Bajaj Electricals, Gammon India, IVRCL, MRF, PTC India, SAIL and Tata Motors among others.

Two 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 February 7, DHFL, IDBI, Jet Airways, Reliance Capital and Reliance Infra are present in this list.