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The Indian equity benchmarks are expected to open on a flat note on April 6, as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a muted start for the broader index with a loss of 48 points after a robust end to the last trading session on Wednesday when Nifty ended 159 points higher at 17,557. SGX futures were at 17,589 levels.

The BSE Sensex in the previous session added 582 points to close at 59,689, while the Nifty50 closed 159 points higher at 17,557, trading higher than its 200-day moving average of 17,268 and trying to consolidate on the recent momentum.

The pivot charts indicate that the Nifty may get support at 17,446 followed by 17,406 and 17,342. If the index advances, 17,574 is the initial key resistance level to watch out for followed by 17,614 and 17,678.

India’s central bank will announce its monetary policy decision at 10am local time. RBI will also hold reverse repo and govt bond auctions and release weekly foreign exchange data.

India’s rate-setting panel, headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, may raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 percent, according to 26 of 33 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Avalon Technologies Ltd opened for subscription on 3rd April 2023 and the public issue worth Rs 865 crore will remain open for bidding till 6th April 2023.

Yes Bank on Wednesday said it has reported a credit growth of 11.3 percent at Rs 2.01 lakh crore for the March 2023 quarter. The outstanding credit was Rs 1.81 lakh crore at the end of March 31, 2022, Yes Bank said in a regulatory filing. The lender registered a 12.9 per cent growth in deposits excluding Certificate of Deposits (CDs).

Another private sector lender Karnataka Bank posted a 6.1 per cent increase in total loans to Rs 61,326 crore, while deposits grew by 8.69 per cent to Rs 87,362 crore.

Finance Ministry has called a meeting of heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on April 13 to review progress of various financial inclusion schemes, including Jan Suraksha and Mudra Yojana. The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi.

In the wake of the last several policy meetings, bank stocks did react much immediately notwithstanding the nature of the central bank’s decision. However, the general trend has been negative, evident from the 5 percent drop in the Nifty Bank so far since January.

US stocks continued to trade mixed after snapping four day winning streak in the last trading session as investors look towards OPEC+ production cuts and inflation impact of the same with uncertainty still looming for the global economy.

During the regular session on Wednesday, the Dow added nearly 80 points, to close at 33,482. The S&P 500 fell by 0.25 percent, to close at 4090 also snapping a recent string of four consecutive winning sessions and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.07 percent to close at 11,996.

European Markets close lower as investor uncertainty resurfaces. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed 0.16 percent lower, with sectors and major bourses pointing in different directions. Germany’s DAX index shed 0.5 percent and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent as the defensive and energy stocks that dominate the index gained.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led losses in the region as it slid 1.08 percent and the Topix lost 0.91 percent. Elsewhere, the South Korean Kospi fell 0.68 percent, while the Kosdaq saw a smaller loss of 0.64 percent.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.58 percent down, while the Hang Seng Tech index was 1.5 percent lower.  Mainland Chinese markets were also lower, as the Shanghai Composite shed 0.37 percent and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.45 percent.

Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a negative to neutral start for the broader index in India with a loss of 48 points i.e., 0.24 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around 17,577 levels on the Singaporean exchange.

Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $84.45 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude fell 58 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $80.13 a barrel.

The US dollar mostly traded flat against a basket of currencies as easing worries on the ongoing banking crisis appear to wane amid the recent OPEC+ surprise cuts and its impact on inflation.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was 0.28 percent higher in futures at 101.545. The value of 1 US dollar hovers near the 81.93 mark in comparison with the INR.

Safe-haven gold touched its highest in one year on Wednesday as recent U.S. economic data fanned fears of a slowdown and spurred bets the Federal Reserve may ease up on rate hikes.

Spot gold was little changed at $2,019.99 per ounce after rising to its highest since March 2022 at $2,031.89 earlier. U.S. gold futures traded flat at $2,036.40.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 806.82 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares worth Rs 947.21 crore on April 5, National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.