The Indian stock market is expected to open on a cautious note as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative start for the broader index in India.
The BSE Sensex surged 520.68 points, or 1.05 percent, to 50,029.83 on April 1 while the Nifty50 rose 176.70 points, or 1.20 percent, to 14,867.40.
According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 14,745.47, followed by 14,623.63. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 14,936.17 and 15,005.03.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:
US Markets
The S&P 500 surged on Thursday to its first-ever close above the 4,000 mark, lifted by gains in Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, as well as optimism about a recovering U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52% to end at 33,153.21 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.18% to 4,019.87. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.76% to 13,480.11.
Asian Markets
Global stock prices rose to a 1 1/2-month high on Monday after data showing a surge in U.S. employment while short-dated U.S. bonds came under pressure on worries the Federal Reserve may bump up interest rates sooner than it has indicated.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, with China closed for Tomb-Sweeping day and Australia on Easter Monday.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative start for the broader index in India. The Nifty futures were trading around 14,915 level on the Singaporean Exchange.
US job growth accelerates in March; unemployment rate falls to 6.0%
US employers hired more workers than expected in March, spurred by increased vaccinations and more pandemic relief money from the government, cementing expectations that an economic boom was underway.
Nonfarm payrolls surged by 916,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was the biggest gain since last August. Data for February was revised higher to show 468,000 jobs created instead of the previously reported 379,000.
Unemployment rate in India lowers to 6.52% in March: CMIE
The overall unemployment rate in the country has fallen to 6.52 percent in March, from 6.90 percent the previous month, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
However, the urban unemployment rate during the period rose to 7.24 percent from 6.99 percent in February, after seeing two months of decline. The urban unemployment rates had declined in January to 8.08 percent, from 8.84 percent the previous month.
The rural unemployment rate fell to 6.19 percent in March from 6.86 percent the previous month, according to the data.
The National Stock Exchange of India on March 31 decided to cut down the futures & options lot size by 50 percent for 40 stocks. The exchange also reduced the lot size of Nifty50 contracts.
State Bank of India, Shree Cement, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tech Mahindra, Titan Company, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, Adani Enterprises, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Finance, BHEL, Cipla, Grasim Industries, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mindtree and SAIL are the among 40 stocks that will see the revision in market lot size.
In case of Bajaj Finserv and Coforge, the market lot size has been reduced to 75 from 125 and to 200 from 375, respectively.
Banks sanctions Rs 25,586 crore to 1.14 lakh Stand-Up India accounts in 5 years
The Finance Ministry on Sunday said banks have sanctioned Rs 25,586 crore to about 1,14,322 beneficiaries under the Stand Up India Scheme in the last five years for promoting entrepreneurship among women and SC & STs.
The objective of Stand-Up India is to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories, to help them in starting a greenfield enterprise in trading, manufacturing and services sector, by both ready and trainee borrowers, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
SC order on interest waiver: PSU banks may have to take Rs 2,000 crore hit
Public sector banks may have to bear a burden of Rs 1,800-2,000 crore arising due to a recent Supreme Court judgement on the waiver of compound interest on all loan accounts which opted for moratorium during March-August 2020, sources said.
The judgement covers loans above Rs 2 crore as loans below this got blanket interest on interest waiver in November last year. Compound interest support scheme for loan moratorium cost the government Rs 5,500 crore during 2020-21 and the scheme covered all borrowers including the prompt one who did not avail moratorium.
MFs turn net buyers; invest Rs 2,476 crore in equities in March
Mutual funds invested Rs 2,476 crore in equities in March, making it the first such infusion in 10 months, as consolidation in the market provided investment opportunities to fund managers.
According to Sebi data, MFs put in a net amount of Rs 2,476.5 crore in equities in March. Before that, MFs withdrew Rs 16,306 crore from equities in February, Rs 13,032 crore in January, Rs 26,428 crore in December, Rs 30,760 crore in November, Rs 14,492 crore in October, Rs 4,134 crore in September, Rs 9,213 crore in August, Rs 9,195 crore in July and Rs 612 crore in June.
India's forex reserves fall by $2.986 billion to $579.285 billion
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.986 billion to reach $579.285 billion in the week ended March 26, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended March 19, the forex kitty had increased by $233 million to $582.271 billion. It had touched a record high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
In the reporting week ended March 26, 2021, the fall in reserves was on account of a decrease in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCA declined by $3.226 billion to $537.953 billion, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem files DRHP, to raise Rs 450 crore via IPO
Specialty chemical manufacturing company Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem has filed preliminary papers with capital markets watchdog Sebi to raise Rs 450 crore through an initial share sale. The initial public offer (IPO) comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 225 crore and an offer of sale to the tune of Rs 225 crore by existing promoters and shareholders, according to draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).
ICICI Securities and JM Financials have been appointed as merchant bankers to the issue. The equity shares of the company will be listed on NSE and BSE.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 149.41 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 296.84 crore in the Indian equity market on April 1, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
One stock - SAIL - is under the F&O ban for April 5. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies