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

Benchmark indices recovered from the day's low and ended marginally lower on April 30 after buying witnessed in the last hour of trading. The Sensex was down 35.78 points at 39031.55, while Nifty was down 6.50 points at 11748.20.

Among sectors, Nifty PSU Bank declined more than 3 percent followed by Auto (down 1.7%), Infra (down 1.1%) and pharma (down 0.6%), while some buying was seen in the Metal and IT indices, which gained more than 1 percent each.

The S&P BSE Midcap index closed 1.1 percent lower while the S&P BSE Smallcap index was down 1.27 percent.

According to the Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 11,684, followed by 11,619.8. If the index starts moving upward, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,784.3 and 11,820.4.

The Nifty Bank closed at 29,764.8, down 248.7 points, on April 30. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 29,569.8, followed by 29,374.8. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 29,940.1, followed by 30,115.4.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a gist of important stories from across news agencies.

Wall Street drops after Fed chair dampens rate-cut hopes

US stocks ended lower on Wednesday and the S&P 500 snapped a three-day streak of record high closes as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman

Jerome Powell appeared to dampen hopes the central bank could move later this year to cut interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.77 points, or 0.61 percent, to 26,430.14, the S&P 500 lost 22.1 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,923.73 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 45.75 points, or 0.57 percent, to 8,049.64.

Asian shares trade sideways as investors await fresh cues

Asian markets marked time on Thursday with two major centers - Japan and China - shut for holidays while the dollar held on to overnight gains after the US central bank poured cold water on rate cut expectations.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.1 percent, trading in a tight band. Australian shares slipped 0.7 percent while New Zealand was up 0.4 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI index added 0.1 percent. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged.

SGX Nifty

A negative opening is likely as Nifty Futures on Singaporean Exchange were trading over 42 points lower. The futures traded around 11,806-odd levels.

US Fed holds interest rate hike, sees no strong case for hiking or cutting rates

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady and signaled little appetite to adjust them any time soon, taking heart in continued job gains and economic growth and the likelihood that weak inflation will edge higher.

“We think our policy stance is appropriate at the moment; we don’t see a strong case for moving it in either direction,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said following the end of the central bank’s latest two-day policy meeting.

Oil dips as US output hits record, but global markets remain tight

Oil prices dipped on Thursday after data showed record US crude oil production, which resulted in a surge in stockpiles. Spot Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $72.09 per barrel at 0032 GMT, down 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 2 cents, at $63.58 per barrel, having eased 0.5 percent in the previous session.

Rupee settles 46 paise up at 69.56 vs USD

The rupee appreciated for the second straight session Tuesday to close higher by 46 paise at 69.56 against the US dollar as crude oil prices retreated from six-month high levels and the greenback weakened against global rivals.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 69.83 and advanced to a high of 69.52 during the day. It finally settled at 69.56, registering a rise of 46 paise against the dollar over its previous close.

India's March infrastructure output grows 4.7%: Government

India's infrastructure output grew 4.7 percent in March from a year earlier, government data showed on April 30. For the 2018/19 financial year, infrastructure output grew 4.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data.

Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors - such as coal, crude oil and electricity - accounts for nearly 40 percent of India's industrial output.

Bank of England to keep rates steady, despite Brexit delay

The Bank of England looks set to leave interest rates on hold on Thursday and keep its options open for later in the year when it announces its first policy decision since the postponement of Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Almost no economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to raise rates from 0.75 percent until Britain has left the EU. With the BoE unlikely to move now, its updated economic forecasts will be watched for any hint that it would consider raising rates before parliament agrees a Brexit deal.

SEBI orders do not affect functioning as an exchange: NSE

A day after SEBI passed orders against it in the co-location case, National Stock Exchange said on May 1 the orders do not affect its functioning as a

recognised stock exchange.

The markets regulator on April 30 directed the bourse to disgorge profits worth over Rs 687 crore along with interest besides barring it from launching any new derivative products as well as from accessing the securities market directly or indirectly for six months.

Together with interest, the total disgorgement amount would be more than Rs 1,000 crore. "Normal trading on NSE in all segments will continue from Thursday, May 2, 2019. Wednesday, May 1, 2019 is a trading holiday on account of May Day," the bourse said in a statement.

India Ratings lower GDP growth projection for FY20 to 7.3%

India Ratings and Research on April 30 marginally lowered country's GDP growth projection for 2019-20 fiscal to 7.3 per cent mainly due to below normal monsoon prediction and loss of momentum in industrial output. The Fitch group company had earlier projected India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7.5 per cent.

The key reasons for the downward revision are the prediction of lower-than-normal monsoon for 2019 and continued agrarian distress, and the loss of momentum in the industrial output growth, especially manufacturing and electricity.

Besides, the slow progress on cases referred to the National Company Law Tribunal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, was another reason cited by the company for lowering the growth forecast.

39 companies to report March quarter results today

As many as 39 companies on the BSE will declare their results for the quarter ended March which include names like Bandhan Bank, Dabur India, L&T Infotech, MRF, Radico Khaitan, and Tata Power among others.

With inputs from Reuters & other agencies