Markets are likely to open flat or marginally lower as SGX Nifty on Tuesday indicated a marginally negative opening for the broader indices with a loss of 37 points after settling the session near the day’s highs.
In the previous session, the BSE Sensex closed 74 points higher at 60,130, while the Nifty 50 closed 25 points higher at 17,769.
The pivot chart indicates that the Nifty may find support at 17,730, followed by 17,708 and 17,674. If the index moves further, 17,799 is the initial key resistance level to watch, followed by 17,820 and 17,855.
The SGX Nifty closed 37 points lower at 17,769 after the Nifty rose 25 points on Tuesday, indicating a marginally negative opening for the broader indices. SGX futures stood at 17,748.
US Markets
On Tuesday evening, US stock futures increased as Big Tech companies, including Alphabet and Microsoft, reported their earnings. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 47 points or 0.1 percent, S&P 500 futures rose by 0.4 percent, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 1.2 percent.
The Dow fell nearly 344 points or 1 percent in regular trading Tuesday. The S&P 500 closed 1.6 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 2 percent.
European Markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the day down 0.4 percent, with most sectors in the red. Mining shares fell 2.9 percent and banking shares 2 percent, while construction shares fell 1.1 percent. The FTSE closed at 7891, down 0.27 percent. The DAX closed at 15872 points, down 0.05 percent.
Asian markets
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.35 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.33 percent, and Topix was down 0.62 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi bucked the broader slump and rose 0.19 percent, while the KOSDAQ was up 0.44 percent, as the country’s consumer sentiment index for April rose to 95.1 from 92 in March.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set to extend its losses from Tuesday, with tied futures at 19,391 compared to its last close of 19,617.88.
Brokers are now prohibited by Sebi from pledging their clients’ funds as bank guarantees.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred the use of clients’ funds to create bank guarantees to augment the working capital requirements of stockbrokers.
Currently, stockbrokers and clearing members pledge their clients’ funds with banks through bank guarantees (BGs), which allows them to pledge higher amounts to clearing corporations. However, this practice of implicit leverage poses market risks, especially for the client’s funds.
Dalmia Bharat’s Q4 NP increases two-fold to Rs 609 crore.
Dalmia Bharat Ltd, a cement maker, announced on Tuesday that its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter of 2022-23 has doubled to Rs 609 crore. In the same period last year, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 271 crore, according to a regulatory filing by Dalmia India.
Furthermore, the company’s revenue from operations increased by 15.73 percent to Rs 3,912 crore during the quarter under review, compared to Rs 3,380 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Oil prices
Oil prices declined by 2 percent following two days of gains due to growing worries of an economic slowdown and a stronger dollar, which offset expectations of increased Chinese demand and reduced US crude stocks.
Brent crude settled at $80.77 per barrel, falling by $1.96 or 2.4 percent. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by $1.69 or 2.2 percent to $77.07. The previous day, both contracts had seen a gain of over 1 percent.
Gold
Gold prices increased as Treasury yields were impacted by a robust dollar, while investors anticipated US economic data later in the week that may confirm the impact of the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest-rate hikes.
The stronger dollar applied pressure on Treasury yields, resulting in a rise in gold prices. Investors remained cautious as they awaited US economic data, which could provide clarity on the Fed’s interest-rate-hike approach.
Spot gold rose 0.35 percent to $1,996.12 an ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.34 percent to $2,006.60.
