The market is expected to open on a cautious note as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 8 points.
The BSE Sensex fell 175 points to 59,288, while the Nifty50 declined 73 points to close at 17,393 on Monday after recovery from the day's low of 17,300 and budget day's low of 17,353, which coincides with the 200-day SMA (simple moving average).
There was a bit of recovery towards the end, helping the Nifty50 form a bearish candle with a long lower shadow which resembles a hammer pattern on the daily charts.
As per the pivot charts, the Nifty has support at 17,323, followed by 17,287 and 17,228. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,439, followed by 17,475 and 17,534.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:
US Markets
US stocks eked out a slight gain on Monday as investors engaged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses, the biggest percentage declines of 2023 for Wall Street's main benchmarks, as jitters persisted about coming interest rate hikes to tame stubbornly high inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.17 points, or 0.22 percent, to 32,889.09, the S&P 500 gained 12.2 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,982.24 and the Nasdaq Composite added 72.04 points, or 0.63 percent, to 11,466.98.
Asian Markets
Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Tuesday as investors digested key economic data across the region.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.51 percent, while the Topix was higher at 0.37 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.57 percent ahead of its January retail sales data release. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.98 percent.
SGX Nifty
Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 8 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 17,497 levels on the Singaporean exchange.
Oil futures slip 1% on worries about more US interest rate hikes
Oil prices slid about 1 percent on Monday as strong US economic data had investors bracing for more interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve to fight inflation, which could slow economic growth and oil demand.
Losses were limited by oil supply concerns after Russia halted exports to Poland via a key pipeline.
Brent futures fell 71 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $82.45 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 64 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $75.68.
Bank credit growth eases to 16.8% in December quarter: RBI data
Banks' credit growth eased to 16.8 percent in the December quarter from 17.2 percent in the preceding quarter, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s "Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of SCBs: December 2022" showed. In the year-ago period, bank credit grew at 8.4 percent.
The growth in credit was led by bank branches in metropolitan centres, which account for nearly 60 percent of the total credit by scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) and recorded 17.2 percent rise on-year in lending; urban, semi-urban and rural centres also recorded double-digit credit growth, the RBI said.
India Inc's profit margin narrows in December quarter on high inflation: Icra
India Inc's operating profit margin narrowed by a sharp 2.37 percent in the December quarter to 16.3 percent on an annual basis due to inflation and rising energy costs, a domestic ratings agency said on Monday.
When viewed sequentially, the operating profit margin for the December quarter expanded by 1.80 percent over the preceding September quarter, Icra Ratings said, attributing the same to the easing in input costs and also price hikes by many companies.
Going forward, while price hikes and sequential input cost reductions can boost margins in the near term, geopolitical tensions, recessionary concerns, and forex volatility continue to pose risks, the agency said.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 2,022.52 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 2,231.66 crore on February 27, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.
Retail mutual fund assets base grows 9.3% to over Rs 23 lakh crore in January
Retail investors' interest in the Indian mutual fund industry has seen an uptick with the value of assets held by them witnessing a rise of 9.3 percent to Rs 23.4 lakh crore in January this year. In comparison, the value of assets held by retail investors in mutual funds stood at Rs 21.40 lakh crore in January 2022, latest data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.
However, the value of institutional assets has marginally decreased to Rs 17.42 lakh crore in January 2023, from Rs 17.49 lakh crore in January 2022.
Japan's factory output posts biggest fall in 8 months on weak autos, chips sectors
Japan's factory output shrank at the fastest pace in eight months in January as declining overseas demand took a heavy toll on key industries such as automakers and the semiconductor equipment sector.
Factory output fell 4.6 percent in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, government data showed on Tuesday. The contraction was much larger than economists' median forecast of a 2.6 percent decline and followed an upwardly-revised 0.3 percent increase in December.
Gold touches two-month low as rate expectations dull outlook
Gold fell to a two-month low on Monday as strong US economic data sparked concern over further increases to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, clouding the outlook for zero-yielding bullion. Spot gold was steady at $1,811.60 an ounce by 1236 GMT, having earlier hitting its lowest since late December at $1,806.50. US gold futures were unchanged at $1,817.20.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies
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