Euphoric Indian equities showcased an impressive performance on Thursday, by recapturing the crucial 24,600 (Sensex) and 7,450 (Nifty) levels as the post-Budget rally continued following creation of higher bets coupled with a fresh spell of foreign fund inflows.  Initially it was the strong growth forecast by IMF (International Monetary Fund) that gave the required impetus to the local equity markets, as it projected India's economic growth moving up to 7.5 percent in the 2016-17 fiscal year from 7.3 percent this year, citing a fall in global oil prices and positive policy actions from the government as reasons for its improved outlook. Besides, continued buying from FIIs, encouraged by the regulatory fillip to the financial sector and the government's commitment to keep to the 3.5 per cent fiscal deficit target also boosted the domestic sentiment. The rally was so strong that investors overlooked the report that the growth in India's services industry slowed sharply in February, as rising prices led to a slight deceleration in demand. The Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) sank to 51.4 in February from January's 54.3, but chalked up its eighth straight month above the 50-level that distinguishes growth from contraction. On the global front, Asian markets, including those of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Shanghai, ended in the positive territory, while the European stock markets started weaker. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to good start as sentiments remained sanguine, thanks to encouraging leads from the Asian and overnight US markets, which gained after better-than-expected news on manufacturing, adding fuel to an early rally on China's latest stimulus move. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 364.01 points or 1.50% to 24606.99, while the CNX Nifty rose 106.75 points or 1.45% to 7,475.60. 

The US markets closed higher on Thursday, for a third day of gains, with energy shares maintaining gains after a rebound of oil futures fizzled. Meanwhile, San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams struck an optimistic note that the US economy is powering through headwinds from abroad and faces no tangible risk of recession. On the economy front, the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 278,000 in the last week of February, but the overall pace of layoffs still hovered near post recession lows. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, fell by 1,750 to 270,250 and hit a three-month low. Also, the productivity of US businesses fell at a 2.2% annual pace in the fourth quarter, a smaller decline than previously estimated. The government last month had stated that productivity fell at a 3% rate in the final three months of 2015. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44.58 points or 0.26 percent to 16,943.90, the Nasdaq was up 4.00 points or 0.09 percent to 4,707.42 while, the S&P 500 gained 6.95 points or 0.35 percent to 1,993.40.   

Crude oil futures despite remaining near one-month highs, consolidated in a choppy trade on Thursday, as investors continue to gauge whether OPEC will institute a production freeze later this month. Markets were skittish ahead of Friday's closely-watched February jobs report after the weekly initial jobless claims rose to 278,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 272,000.  Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery ended lower by $0.11 or 0.32 percent to $34.55 a barrel after trading in a range of $34.20 and $35.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for May delivery closed at $37.06, up $0.13 or 0.35percent on the ICE.

Indian rupee ended stronger against dollar on Thursday due to persistent selling of American currency by banks and exporters. The rupee extended its upward march for the fifth consecutive day, its longest winning streak since December. Meanwhile heavy gains in the equity market following the Union Budget also bolstered sentiment of Indian currency. Further, the sentiments remained upbeat after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a robust growth rate of 7.3% for the country this fiscal, picking up to 7.5% next year. On the global front, euro slipped on Thursday after the release of downbeat euro-area composite manufacturing and services that added to speculations the ECB would boost its stimulus next week. Finally, the rupee ended at 67.33, 21 paise stronger from its previous close of 67.54 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net buyers in equity segment, while they were net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5931.25 crore against gross selling of Rs 4223.02 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 223.80 crore with gross sales of Rs 1083.04 crore.        

The US markets managed a positive close for the third straight day in last session, though the gains were modest but major averages once again ended the session at their best closing levels in almost two months. The Asian markets have made mostly a positive start ahead of key US jobs data and the start of the Chinese national legislature's annual gathering. The US nonfarm payrolls will give investors further insight into the health of the world's biggest economy and the likelihood of further interest-rate hikes. The Indian markets making a hat-trick of rally continued their surge in last session and the major averages posted gains of around one and half a percent. Today, the upbeat global cues are indicating another positive start of trade for the Indian markets and Nifty can be reclaiming 7500. Meanwhile, the infra space will be buzzing today, as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the progress of infra projects across sectors such as coal, power and roads. Secretaries from the respective ministries will present the current status of projects at the meeting. There will be some buzz in the NBFC stocks, as the Reserve Bank has came out with a draft regulatory framework for a new kind of NBFC which would act as an account aggregator to help people view their accounts across financial institutions in a common format. As per the draft, only companies registered with the RBI as Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) AA will be able to undertake the business of an account aggregator. The telecom stocks too will be in action, as the Supreme Court will be hearing a plea of two cellular operator associations challenging a Delhi High Court order upholding TRAI's decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016.  

Support and Resistance: NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex

Nifty Top volumes

• Yes Bank has acquired over five percent stake in Institutional Investor Advisory Services.
• Housing Development Finance Corporation , the country's largest mortgage lender, will raise Rs 2,000 crore via non-convertible debentures to fund business needs.
• Tata Steel has received clearance from Environment Ministry for its Rs 1,877 crore expansion project to be carried out at Jamshedpur Steel Works in Jharkhand.
• Coal India has reported a growth of 9.2% in coal production at 477.31 million tonnes for the first 11 months of this fiscal against the same period last year.
• Tata Consultancy Services has entered into strategic alliance with GE.