What changed for the market while you were sleeping? 12 things to know

Sensex continued its surge for the second consecutive session, ending 481.56 points higher at 37,535.66 on March 12. The Nifty50 rallied 133.15 points to 11,301.20 and formed a strong bullish candle on the daily charts.

India VIX closed higher after the declines of last seven trading sessions. It was moved up by 1.33 percent to 15.09 levels. Option band signifies a shift in

higher trading range between 11,150 to 11,450 zones, experts said.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 11,245.33, followed by 11,189.47. If the index starts moving upward, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,338.73 and 11,376.27.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 28,443.70, up 477.05 points on March 12. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 28,227.9, followed by 28,012.1. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 28,573.8, followed by 28,703.9.

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.

S&P, Nasdaq rise on tame inflation data; Dow felled by Boeing

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Tuesday after tame inflation data underscored the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on interest rate hikes, but the Dow ended lower as Boeing’s shares sank for a second day after one of its planes crashed in Ethiopia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 94.32 points, or 0.37 percent, to 25,556.56, the S&P 500 gained 8.41 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,791.71 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.97 points, or 0.44 percent, to 7,591.03.

Asian shares subdued, sterling awaits its fate

Asian share markets got off to a subdued start on Wednesday after a mixed finish on Wall Street, while a frazzled pound awaited its fate ahead of yet another make-or-break parliamentary vote on Brexit.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.3 percent and Australia’s main index slipped 0.4 percent. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.08 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 8.5 points or 0.08 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,323-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Factory output growth slips to 1.7% in January

India's factory output grew 1.7 percent in January, lower than previous month's 2.4 percent, and 7.5 percent in January last year. Factory output measured by the index of industrial production (IIP) is the closest approximation to gauge business activity in the economy.

Manufacturing sector output, which accounts for more than three-fourths of the entire index, grew at 1.3 percent in January, a sharp fall from an 8.7 percent growth a year ago for the same period, symptomatic of a slowdown in investment activities.

Electricity production growth stood at 0.8 percent for the month of January whereas mining activity, which accounts for over 14 percent of the entire index, stood at 3.9%.

Retail inflation marginally higher at 2.57% in February

India's retail inflation stood at 2.57 percent in February, marginally higher than the previous month’s 2.05 percent, and sharply lower than 4.4 percent in the same month last year, primarily aided by low food prices. The latest price data released by CSO on March 12 showed that consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation, which measures changes in shop-end prices, remained comfortably within RBI's target level of 4 percent.

Food prices continued to fall with consumer food price inflation, which is a gauge to measure changes in kitchen budgets, contracted 0.66 percent in February.

Oil firms as Saudis trim exports, US output forecast reduced

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, supported by planned cuts to Saudi exports and a reduced forecast for US crude output. International Brent crude oil futures were at $66.93 a barrel at 0039 GMT, up 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. Brent touched $67.39 a barrel on Monday, its highest since February 25.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.17 per barrel, up 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last settlement.

SBI to auction Rs 2,338 cr of NPAs on March 26

State Bank of India has put on sale six non-performing accounts worth Rs 2,337.88 crore, which will be auctioned on March 26. The bank is looking to sell all the accounts on a 100 percent cash basis to banks, ARCs, NBFCs and other financial institutions, according to the auction notice on the lender's website on Tuesday.

The accounts are Indian Steel Corporation (outstanding debt Rs 928.88 crore), Jai Balaji Industries (Rs 859.33 crore), Kohinoor Planet Construction (Rs 207.77 crore), Mittal Corp (Rs 116.34 crore), MCL Global Steel (Rs 100.18 crore), Shree Vaishnav Ispat (Rs 82.52 crore) and Gati Infrastructure (Rs 42.86 crore).

Rupee spurts to over 2-month high on unabated foreign fund inflows

The rupee on Tuesday gained 18 paise to close at more than two-month high of 69.71 against the US dollar propelled by foreign capital inflows and a weaker greenback in overseas markets. Dollar selling by exporters and banks also supported the domestic currency, forex dealers said.

Foreign investors continued to pour in capital into Indian markets Tuesday amid growing risk appetite for riskier assets. According to provisional exchange data, FPIs put in Rs 2,477 crore on a net basis in capital markets Tuesday. They had invested a net Rs 3,810.60 crore on Monday.

CPSE ETF additional sale on March 19; govt to raise over Rs 3,500 cr

The government is likely to launch an additional offering of CPSE-Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on March 19 to raise at least Rs 3,500 crore, officials said Tuesday.

The ETF sale through follow-on fund offer (FFO) will come with the option of retaining up to Rs 5,000 crore through green shoe option, they said. "The

additional offering of ETF would be on March 19. The base issue size has been fixed at Rs 3,500 crore, with an option to retain additional subscription," the officials said.

The proceeds from the ETF sale will help the government move towards meeting the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target set for the current fiscal.

SEBI lifts foreign investment cap in corporate bonds

Markets regulator SEBI on March 12 withdrew the 20 percent limit on investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bonds of an entity. In a notification, the regulator said the restriction is being withdrawn in accordance with a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In June last year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had mandated that no Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) shall have an exposure of more than 20 percent of its corporate bond portfolio to a single corporate.

However, the central bank in February lifted the restriction in view of market feedback. To give effect to the directions of the RBI, the regulator said provisions of its June 2018 circulars with respect to exposure of more than 20 percent "stands withdrawn with immediate effect".

Indian IPO market sees greenshoots, but revival unlikely until election

Indian firms are returning to equity markets to raise funds with two companies opening subscriptions for initial public offerings (IPOs) this month, but sentiment is expected to remain cautious ahead of national election starting in April.

While investor sentiment for Indian equities has picked up amid renewed hopes for a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, analysts expect the primary market for equity issues to only gather pace after election results.

Four 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 March 13, IDBI Bank, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Jet Airways are present in this list.

With inputs from Reuters & other agencies