Indian benchmark indices continued their record-setting spree, closing at all-time highs for the fourth time in last five sessions with the Nifty closing above 9,500 level for the first time and the Sensex ending firmly above 30,500 mark. Bullishness seemed to be returning to the markets as investors aggressively piled up positions in key heavyweight stocks on account of robust foreign fund inflows, better-than-expected earnings by some blue-chip companies so far, and overnight gains in the US markets. Some support also came with the report that India's monsoon rains are expected to arrive on the southern Kerala coast on May 30, two days ahead of schedule. India looks likely to receive higher monsoon rainfall than previously forecast as concern over the El Nino weather condition has eased. Further, investors' morale got a boost with Industry body FICCI's latest Economic Outlook Survey pegging India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at around 7.4% for the fiscal year 2017-18. The survey was conducted during March and April 2017 and recorded a median GDP group forecast of 7.4% for the current fiscal year, with a minimum and maximum level of 7% and 7.6% respectively. The pick-up in overall GDP growth will also be supported by an improvement in industry and services sector growth.  The markets paid no heed to the report that India's trade deficit swelled to a 29-month high in April as imports led by gold grew sharper than exports. While Imports grew 49% from a year ago to $37.8 billion, buoyed by a 211% rise in gold imports, exports increased 19.7% to $24.6 billion, widening trade deficit to $13.2 billion from $4.8 billion in the year ago period. Meanwhile, India and Japan are together embarking upon multiple infrastructure projects across Africa, Iran, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia in what could be viewed as pushback against China's massive, unilateral infrastructure initiatives under the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project connecting it with Europe and Africa. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 260.48 points or 0.86% to 30582.60, while the CNX Nifty was up by 66.85 points or 0.71% to 9,512.25. 

The US markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday, while Nasdaq closed at a record for a second session in a row, and the Dow industrials and S&P 500 finished fractionally lower amid political uncertainty in the US. Investors were also assessing reports that Trump had shared sensitive intelligence obtained from a close US ally with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDP Now forecast model showed that the US economy is forecast to expand at a 4.1 percent annualized pace in the second quarter following the release of April figures on housing starts and industrial output. The latest second-quarter gross domestic product estimate was faster than the 3.6 percent reading calculated on May 12. On the economy front, the pace of home construction eased in April as builders took a breather after a strong start to the year. Housing starts ticked down 2.6% to a 1.17 million annual pace, and stood just 0.7% higher than in the same month last year. Permits fell 2.5% to a 1.23 million pace in April. That was 5.7% higher than a year ago. Separately, industrial production in April grew at the fastest monthly rate in more than three years, on the back of broad-based gains in the manufacturing sector. The Federal Reserve said that industrial production grew 1% in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.19 points or 0.01 percent to 20,979.75, S&P 500 edged lower by 1.65 points or 0.07 percent to 2,400.67, while Nasdaq gained 20.2 points or 0.33 percent to 6,169.87.

Crude oil futures unable to extend their gains, ended lower once again on Tuesday after a warning on the global supply glut. The IEA forecast global demand growth of 1.3 million b/d in 2017, unchanged from its previous assessment. Investors awaited a fresh weekly batch of U.S inventory data amid growing support from energy ministers for prolonged supply cuts to March 2018. Though, investors' optimism grew that the OPEC-led supply-cut agreement would be extended for a period of nine months, until March 2018, after Kuwait became the latest oil producing nation to support the idea of prolonged supply cuts. Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery ended lower by $0.19 or 0.4 percent to $48.66 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for July delivery ended down by $ 0.19 to end at $51.63 on the ICE.

Indian rupee ended marginally weaker against the US dollar on Tuesday, on account of buying of American currency by banks and importers. Investors turned cautious with report that India's trade deficit swelled to a 29-month high in April as imports led by gold grew sharper than exports. While imports grew 49% from a year ago to $37.8 billion, buoyed by a 211% rise in gold imports, exports increased 19.7% to $24.6 billion, widening trade deficit to $13.2 billion from $4.8 billion in the year ago period. However, dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas and a robust domestic equity market restricted the rupee's losses. On the global front, dollar slumped against all other major currencies on Tuesday, after reports President Donald Trump shared classified information with top Russian officials at a meeting last week. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.08, 2 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.06 on Monday.

The FIIs as per Tuesday's data were net buyers in equity and debt segments both. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4730.79 crore against gross selling of Rs 4346.06 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 3544.02 crore with gross sales of Rs 1080.40 crore.

The US markets made a mixed closing in last session after a choppy session of trade, but despite the choppy trading on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached another new record closing high. Though, mixed batch of US economic data along with continued turmoil in Washington kept weighing down the sentiments. The Asian markets have once again made a mixed start with many of the indices in the region turning cautious over the turmoil engulfing President Donald Trump's administration. The Japanese market turned lower as the yen strengthened against the dollar. The Indian markets rallied in the last session to a fresh record high on some good earnings as well as macro indicator. Today, the start of the day is likely to be in green but the mood may turn cautious, as the United Nations has revised downward India's economic growth forecast for 2017 but predicted an increased 7.9 percent GDP growth next year as it cautioned that stressed balance sheets in the banking sectors will prevent strong investment rebound in the near term. Also, a private report has said that after a six-year wait, private investment growth rates seems to have bottomed out in 2016 but the pace of its revival is expected to be gradual over the next few years. Meanwhile, ahead of the planned GST rollout from July 1, the government is strengthening the body responsible for detecting tax evasion and will set up two new agencies, including one for business intelligence and analytics. The IT sector will keep buzzing, as the government has downplayed job losses in the IT sector, citing retrenchment and automation. 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

• TCS has signed a deal for office space with Brigade Group for 'Brigade Bhuwalka Icon',  a 3.75 lakh square feet development strategically located on Whitefield main road.
• Dr Reddy's Laboratories has unveiled the generic version of Sofosbuvir and Velpatasvir fixed-dose combination under the brandname Resof Total in India.
• Maruti Suzuki India has earmarked a budget of Rs 140 crore for Corporate Social Responsibility activities for FY18.
• Tata Power Solar Systems, 100% subsidiary of Tata Power, and Dell International Services India have jointly build India's largest vertical solar farm of 120 kw.