Trends on SGX Nifty indicate positive opening for Indian indices

Indian markets could open mildly higher in line with mostly higher Asian markets today and sharply positive US markets on Thursday, said Deepak Jasani, Head-Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

The Indian market rallied more than 1 percent on F&O monthly expiry day (April 28). Nifty managed to close above 17,200 at 17245.

Jasani said, On daily charts, Nifty has formed higher top formation preceded by higher bottom, which indicates higher probability of markets extending the gains. Nifty longs should be held with the stop loss of 17,050. On the upside 17,414 can act as a resistance.

Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities said, the Markets are likely to start on a firm note following a sharp upsurge in US markets and early buoyancy in other Asian indices. After Thursday's (April 28) smart recovery amidst bargain hunting it appears that short covering backed with fear of missing out (FOMO) shall rule traders’ mindset in today’s trade as well.

Another positive thing is FIIs bought shares worth Rs. 743.20 crores in yesterday's trade while DIIs bought shares worth Rs. 780.90 crores. Also, India VIX, which measures the expected volatility in the market, has slipped to 19.37 levels inThursday's trade. Technically speaking, bulls will continue to rise if Nifty continues to close above its 200 -DMA at 17219 mark, Tapse added.

At the close on April 28, the Sensex surged 701.67 points or 1.23 percent at 57,521.06. The broad-based Nifty added 206.60 points or 1.21 percent at 17,245.

Asian stocks up in early trade

Shares in Asia-Pacific largely climbed in Friday morning trade following big gains overnight on Wall Street. Asian shares clung on to small gains on Friday thanks to a solid Wall Street session, but were still set for their worst month in two years, as China growth fears and looming US rate hikes dragged on sentiment and sent the safe-haven dollar soaringl Reuters said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent on Friday, after robust earnings from Facebook parent Meta Platforms had driven the Nasdaq 3 percent higher overnight. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.

Shanghai stocks rose 0.2 percent on Friday, but are set for an 8.1 percent fall for the month, their worst since January 2016. "There are four near term catalysts driving the market at the moment: US earnings which we are about half way through, rising US Treasury yields and lots of hawkish speak from the Fed, the war Ukraine, and China policy," said Fook-Hien Yap, senior investment strategist at Standard Chartered Wealth Management.

US stocks finish sharply higher

US equity futures fell Friday after post-earnings slumps in Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. snuffed out some of the optimism from a Wall Street rally.

US stocks finished sharply higher Thursday as investors piled into technology stocks following results from Facebook parent Meta Platforms that weren’t as bad as feared. Investors also brushed off data that showed the US economy contracted unexpectedly in the first quarter.

Though corporate results weren’t well ahead of consensus, as revenue actually came in weaker than forecast, expectations were low given the sharp decline this year in the stock prices.

The S&P 500 has gained or lost 2 percent or more in a day some 32 times so far in 2022, compared to 24 such days in all of 2021. The Nasdaq gained 3.06 percent to 12,871.53 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.85 percent to 33,916.39 points, Reuters said.

The US dollar touched a two-decade high against rivals on Thursday.

Investors also were weighing a first look at first-quarter economic growth, with gross domestic product showing a 1.4 percent annualized contraction after a 6.9 percent expansion in the final quarter of 2021. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast 1 percent growth, but some had warned of the potential for a negative number. The decline was mostly due to a record international trade deficit (exports dropped 5.9 percent on the back of hurting economic demand overseas in light of the Russia-Ukraine war), lower government spending (including on stimulus payments) and declining inventories, but robust consumer spending and businesses investment signaled the economy was still expanding at a steady pace.

Bank of Japan to defend 0.25% yield on govt bond

The Bank of Japan on Thursday vowed to defend a 0.25 percent yield on its 10-year fixed-rate Japanese government bond by buying those bonds every business day, as long as needed.

India's peak power demand touches all-time high

India's peak power demand met or the highest supply in a day touched the all-time high of 204.65 GW on Thursday (up 12.1% YoY) amid ongoing heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country increasing demand for electricity.

SEBI cuts listing time for REITs, InvITs

Sebi on Thursday reduced the time taken for the listing of such emerging investment vehicles to six working days from the present 12 days to streamline the process of public issue of units of REIT and InvIT.

The new rule will apply to a public issue of units of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), which opens on or after June 1, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in two separate circulars. The move is aimed at making the existing process of issuance of such emerging investment vehicles simpler and cost-effective.

Crude oil prices up

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday as the German government reportedly dropped its opposition to an embargo on Russian oil, paving the way for a complete EU boycott of liquid fuels out of Russia. US crude futures were up 1.4 percentat $103.48 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 1.3 percent at $106.30 a barrel. Oil prices continued to tick higher to close as Russian airstrikes hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as the UN Secretary General was visiting.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd., said, Crude oil price rallied upwards strongly after breaching 101.65 level, to touch the first positive target at 104.60 and settles there, and we expect to surpass this level to achieve additional gains that reach 109.15 on the near term basis. However, disappointing US GDP data, strength in the dollar and Chinese demand concerns could restrict gains. The expected trading range for today is between 102.00 support and 107.50 resistance. Crude oil is having support at $101.30-$99.50 and resistance is at $105.90–107.40, In INR terms crude oil has support at Rs7,860-7,740; while resistance is at Rs 8,160–8,320.

Fuel prices unchanged

Prices of petrol and diesel remained unchanged for 23rd day in a row on Friday.

Since the end of a four-and-a-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22, rates of petrol and diesel have increased by Rs 10 per litre each via 14 revisions. Fuel prices were last hiked on April 6 by 80 paise a litre each.

in Delhi, the price of petrol and diesel remains Rs 105.41 per litre and Rs 96.67 per litre respectively. In Mumbai, the price of petrol was held unchanged at an all-time high of Rs 120.51 per litre. Diesel price also continues to be at Rs 104.77 a litre, the highest among metros.

In Chennai, petrol costs Rs 110.85 per litre and diesel Rs 100.94 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol is at Rs 115.12 per litre and diesel Rs 99.83 per litre.

Gold closes positive, silver declines

On Thursday, gold and silver settled on a mixed note in the international as well as domestic markets. Gold prices closed slightly positive, up by 0.14 percent while silver closed negative, down by 1.19 percent. The gold and silver bulls were trying to stop the recent price downtrend that pushed prices to nine-week lows overnight. A strong US dollar and rising bond yields have been hammering the two metals recently.

US GDP report showed a surprisingly weak reading of (-)1.4 percent. That was worse than expectations for a rise of 1.0 percent. The gold market saw a mild rally in the aftermath of that report, but gains could not be held.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd. said, the Japanese yen hit a 20-year low against the US dollar as the Bank of Japan has reinforced its commitment to low interest rates despite rising Inflation. Meanwhile, the Euro currency fell to a five-year low against the dollar as soaring energy prices crimp the Euro zone economy. The US dollar index is solidly up again today and hit another two-year high.

Currency outlook

USDINR 27 May futures contract showed high volatility due to volatility in the dollar index. On the daily technical chart, a pair is trading above its resistance level of 76.4800. We observed that a pair after crossing its resistance level of 76.4800 sustaining above these levels. Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd said, "Looking at the technical set-up, a pair is in firm up trend from last few months and showing strength on the technical charts. We expect a pair continue to hold its key support level of 76.3500 on a daily closing basis. We suggest buying in the pair on dips around 76.5500 with a stop loss of 76.35 on a daily closing basis for the targets of 77.0000-77.2000."

Results today

The following companies are releasing their quarterly earnings today: Maruti Suzuki India, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, SBI Cards and Payment Services, Can Fin Homes, Geojit Financial Services, Gillette India, GNA Axles, Gokaldas Exports, HFCL, Just Dial, L&T Finance Holdings, Lloyds Metals and Energy, RPG Life Sciences, Shriram City Union Finance, Solara Active Pharma Sciences, Sonata Software, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, Supreme Industries, Tanla Platforms, Tata Chemicals, and Thyrocare Technologies.

(WIth inputs from Reuters, Agencies)

Published on: Friday, April 29, 2022, 08:35 AM IST