Thursday's session turned out to be a big disappointment for the Indian equity indices which crumbled like a 'house of cards' and went on to breach various key technical levels in the over one and half percent freefall. Sentiments came under pressure as most Asian markets turned negative despite starting on an optimistic note after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) refrained from adding to its monetary policy stance when most economists were expecting further stimulus. The Bank kept its bond-buying programme at 80 trillion yen ($733 billion) a year and made no changes to its negative-interest rate or its programme for purchasing exchange-traded funds. On the domestic front, sentiments were undermined by the Fitch ratings' report that indicate the rapid rise in private-sector debt in emerging markets (EMs), particularly in foreign currency, has increased risks to their economies at a time of heightened global uncertainty. Furthermore, with industrial recovery not yet on the horizon, India Ratings of the Fitch Group said it was lowering its growth forecast for the country to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent.  According to the report, the industrial recovery continues to be weak and fragile and this is getting reflected in the monthly Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data. IIP in fiscal 2015-16 till February has grown by just 2.6 percent. Investors failed to get relief with the report that foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country increased 37 percent after the launch of 'Make in India' programme till February this year. The overseas inflows grew 29 percent during the period compared to the 15-month period prior to the launch. On the global front, Asian markets gave up their early gains and ended lower, the selling pressure continued into the European markets too. Back home, after getting sluggish start, the local benchmark indices showed some strength in early trades, but the sentiments turned pessimistic in late morning trades and indices started drifting lower,  on absence of positive triggers which could take the markets higher and profit booking in frontline blue-chip stocks amid weak cues from Asian markets. Thereafter, the frontline indices lost the plot and kept tumbling down the hill without any stoppage. Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 461.02 points or 1.77% to 25603.10, while the CNX Nifty dropped 132.65 points or 1.66% to 7,847.25.

The US market closed lower on Thursday, as Apple Inc. extended its losing streak, while the broader market crumbled under the combined weight of disappointing data and weak corporate earnings. The market had started off on a sour note after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its interest rates unchanged and offer no additional stimulus. On the economy front, the US economy sputtered in the first quarter, expanding at the slowest pace in two years as business slashed investment by the steepest amount since the Great Recession. Gross domestic product, the sum of a nation's economy, slowed to a 0.5% annual growth rate in the first three months of 2016. The US had grown 1.4%, 2% and 3.9% in the prior three quarters. Export-heavy manufacturers facing a tougher global sales environment and US energy producers coping with cheap oil led a corporate retreat in the January-to-March period. On the other hand, the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 9,000 to 257,000, but initial claims continued to cling near a four-decade low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 210.79 points or 1.17 percent to 17,830.76, Nasdaq was down by 57.85 points or 1.19 percent to 4,805.29 while, S&P 500 dropped 19.34 points or 0.92 percent to 2,075.81.

Crude oil futures extended their gains hitting fresh 2016 yearly-highs on Thursday amid a weaker dollar. Investors continued to digest signs of massive reductions in US production, somewhat easing concerns related to the current global supply glut. Traders were monitoring developments in Venezuela, as protests regarding prolonged water, power and food shortages intensified throughout the country. Earlier this week, the Venezuelan government announced plans to schedule a two-day work week in an effort to preserve its national power grid.  Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery gained $0.69 or 1.52 percent to $46.02 a barrel after trading in a range of $44.95 and $46.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for June delivery closed at $47.76, up $0.83 or 1.77 percent on the ICE.

Indian rupee surrendered its early gains to end weaker against dollar on Thursday due to fresh demand for greenback by banks and importers. Besides, heavy losses in the domestic equity market also hit the rupee sentiment. Further, India Ratings of the Fitch Group said that it was lowering its growth forecast for the country to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent. On the global year, dollar dropped against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and gave little indications on future policy moves. Finally, the rupee ended at 66.51, 6 paise weaker from its previous close of 66.45, on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net buyers in equity and debt segments both. In equity segments, the gross buying was of Rs 1061.34 crore against gross selling of Rs 667.58 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1241.25 crore with gross sales of Rs 781.63 crore.          

The US markets witnessed a sharp sell-off in the last session, with the Nasdaq pulling back to its lowest closing level in a month. Negative sentiments into the markets was generated by billionaire investor Carl Icahn selling its stake in Apple and was followed by Commerce Department report showing US economic growth slowed by more than anticipated in the first quarter. The Asian markets have made a weak start led by the Japanese market which is down by over three percent, as the yen climbed to its 18 months high after BOJs surprise decision to refrain from adding to record monetary stimulus on Thursday. The Indian markets swaying to the global cues turned considerably lower in last session, with the benchmarks suffering cuts of around two percent for the day. Today, the start of the new F&O series is likely to be a somber one following the feeble global cues. Traders will also be concerned with government's statement that implementation of new pay scales recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, or 0.7 percent of GDP, on the exchequer in 2016-17. The burden on pay head would increase by Rs 39,100 crore to about Rs 2.83 lakh crore in the current fiscal. However, there will be some solace to the markets too, which may help in some recovery in latter trade, a UN report for the Asia-Pacific has said that Indian economy is projected to expand by 7.6 percent in 2016-17 and accelerate to 7.8 percent in 2017-18, mainly on the back of domestic consumption demand aided by steady employment and a relatively low inflation. There will be some buzz in the textile and apparel stocks, as a World Bank report has said that rising wages in China presents a huge opportunity to the apparel sector in India with a possibility of creating up to 1.2 million jobs in the country. There will be lots of important earnings announcements, to keep the markets in action.

Support and Resistance: NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Power, India's largest integrated power company, has successfully commissioned its 44MW Lahori wind farm project, located in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh.
• Tata Motors, India's largest automobile manufacturer, has raised Rs 300 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.
• Yes Bank has received its board's approval to raise over Rs 16,500 crore through issue of equity capital as well as debt securities in one or more tranches.
• Mahindra & Mahindra, the leader in the Indian pick-up segment, has launched Big Bolero Pik-up, which offers superior value proposition to its customers.
• Infosys has made an investment in Trifacta, a leading provider of data wrangling software that enables non-technical users to easily transform data for analysis.