Indian equity markets have
prolonged the lull for third straight day and finished the session on a dull
note, marginally below the neutral line as investors refrained from making big
bets ahead of March quarter earnings, which begins later this week. Besides,
tensions around the Middle East and the Korean peninsula send jitters across
emerging markets with stocks extending losses for a third day and currencies
weakening against the dollar. Indian rupee dropped by 32 paise to 64.60 against
the dollar due to growing safe haven appeal for the American currency owing to
higher chances of a tighter US monetary policy. Investors also remained
cautious ahead of key economic numbers - industrial production (IIP) data for
February and consumer inflation for March due to be released on Wednesday. The
downside risk for the frontline indices was limited by reports that foreign
investors have pumped in a staggering $2.45 billion in capital markets in the
last four trading sessions. This comes following a record net inflow of Rs
56,944 crore ($8.7 billion) last month, mainly on expectations that BJP's
victory in recently held assembly polls would lead to faster reforms. Some
support also came with CII Business Confidence Index released during the
weekend, which said that India Inc.'s perceptions about the state of the
economy slid in the last quarter of 2016-17, yet industry's confidence levels
about the future have peaked to their highest level in more than six years.
Meanwhile, Liquor stocks such as United Spirits, Radico Khaitan, Associated
Alcohols & Breweries, Tilaknagar Industries and Globus Spirits came under
selling pressure after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
announced that all liquor shops would be closed across the state in a phased
manner. Finally, the BSE Sensex decreased 130.87 points or 0.44% to 29575.74,
while the CNX Nifty was down by 16.85 points or 0.18% to 9,181.45.
The US markets closed higher on
Monday, as strength in energy shares helped to offset selling pressure sparked
by geopolitical concerns, but market sentiment remained cautious going into the
first-quarter earnings season. Increased tension in the Middle East tends to
boost oil prices by limiting supply levels. The worries were over the situation
on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of unconfirmed reports that China is moving
large number of troops to its border with North Korea. According to a Federal
Reserve Bank of New York survey released showed that measures of US inflation
expectations dropped to their lowest levels in four months in March, reversing
a brief run-up that could temper hopes for broader price pressure. The survey
of consumer expectations, an increasingly influential gauge of prices for the
US central bank, showed that both year-ahead and three-year-ahead expectations
fell to 2.7 percent, from 3 percent in February. The measurements rose through
December and January to their highest levels since mid-2015, before flattening
in February and declining last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added
1.92 points or 0.01 percent to 20,658.02, the Nasdaq was up 3.12 points or 0.05
percent to 5,880.93, while S&P 500 gained 1.62 points or 0.07 percent to
2,357.16.
Crude oil futures continued their
upmove amid concerns about geopolitical tension. Lingering geopolitical
concerns after last Friday's gains after the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian
airbase, kept supporting the crude prices. Although, Syria is no longer a
significant oil producer, it neighbors and has relationships with big oil
producers in the oil-rich region. Also, production halted at Libya's largest
oilfield for the second time in as many weeks while rising geopolitical
tensions in the Middle East lifted sentiment. Benchmark crude oil futures for May
delivery gained $0.84 to $53.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London,
Brent crude for May delivery ended higher by $0.70 at $55.95 on the ICE.
After hitting 20-month high,
Indian rupee weakened against dollar on Monday, due to growing safe haven
appeal for the American currency on increased geo-political risks and higher
chances of a tighter US monetary policy. Besides, investors remained cautious
with Fitch ratings' report that the government's excessive backing to banks in
order to deal with stressed assets and loose macro-economic policy that could
stoke inflation, would prove ‘negative' for Indian economy. Moreover, losses in
the domestic equity markets also weighed on the rupee sentiments. On the global
front, Britain's sterling rose against dollar on Monday, clawing up from a
three-week low ahead of a packed week of data expected to show a tightening
squeeze on the country's consumers.Finally, the rupee ended at 64.56, 30 paise
weaker from its previous close of 64.26 on Friday.
The FIIs as per Monday's data
were net sellers in equity segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5199.54 crore against gross
selling of Rs 5341.28 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 1246.29 crore with gross sales of Rs 500.35 crore.
The US markets managed a modestly
positive close in last session despite a lackluster day of trade. There was
nothing much on economic front and traders were eyeing reports on retail sales,
producer and consumer prices, and import and export prices later this week. The
Asian markets have made mostly a soft start and many of the indices are down by
around half a percent, as Chinese shares slumped and the yen weighed on
Japanese equities. The Indian markets posted loss of another around half a
percent in the very beginning of the week, with Nifty slipping below crucial
9200 mark, as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Korean
peninsula weighed down the sentiment. Today, the start is likely to be soft tailing
the weak regional cues and rising geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, the
government has said there is no proposal under its consideration to review the
foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the multi-brand retail sector. There
will be some buzz in the oil & gas stocks on report that India's fuel
demand fell 0.6 percent in March compared with the same month last year. Sales
of petrol, were 2.9 percent higher from a year earlier at 2.11 million tonnes.
Cooking gas sales increased 1.9 percent to 1.89 million tonnes, while naphtha
sales surged 1.8 percent to 1.15 million tones. However, sales of bitumen, used
for making roads, were 12.2 percent lower. The tobacco and cigarette stocks too
will show some reaction to reports that health ministry in its bid to lower
consumption of tobacco products, has sought to tax all such products, including
bidis, at 28% as well as impose higher cess under the new GST regime.
Support and Resistance: NSE
(Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
9181.45
|
9162.32
|
9213.12
|
BSE Sensex
|
29575.74
|
29475.41
|
29753.69
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close
(Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
103.08
|
289.35
|
287.15
|
290.95
|
ICICI Bank
|
94.50
|
277.65
|
276.17
|
279.07
|
IOC
|
76.21
|
411.25
|
404.47
|
415.92
|
Reliance Industries
|
70.33
|
1381.35
|
1364.13
|
1411.73
|
Hindalco
|
69.29
|
195.05
|
193.27
|
196.17
|
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