Top 10 things to know before the market opens

The Indian stock market is expected to open in the red as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-down opening for the index in India with a 202 points loss.

The BSE Sensex rose 28.35 points to 48,832.03 on April 16 while the Nifty50 climbed 36.40 points to 14,617.90. The index shed 1.5 percent for the week and witnessed Doji kind of pattern formation on the weekly scale as well.

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 14,551.97, followed by 14,486.13. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 14,690.67 and 14,763.53.

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

The three main Wall Street indexes ended Friday higher for the day and week, with the S&P 500 and the Dow breaking closing records, as investors took strong economic data and bank earnings as signs of momentum in the U.S. pandemic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 164.68 points, or 0.48%, to 34,200.67; the S&P 500 gained 15.05 points, or 0.36%, at 4,185.47; and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.58 points, or 0.1%, at 14,052.34.

Asian Markets

Asian shares hovered near 1-1/2 week highs on Monday helped by expectations monetary policy will remain accommodative the world over, while COVID-19 vaccine rollouts help ease fears of another dangerous wave of coronavirus infections.

Australian shares were 0.25% higher while New Zealand’s benchmark index and South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.4% each. Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.4%.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-down opening for the index in India with a 202 points loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 14,439 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.

Bitcoin plunges 14% to $51,541 due to power outage in China

Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, fell as much as 14% to $51,541 on Sunday, reversing most of the big gains it made over the past week. Bitcoin was last trading down 10% at $53,991 as of 1320 GMT, a whopping $12,000 below record highs set on Wednesday. Smaller rival Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, dropped 10% to $2,101.

Data website CoinMarketCap cited blackout in China’s Xinjiang region, which reportedly powers a lot of bitcoin mining, for the selloff.

FPIs pull out Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets in April amid sharp rise in COVID cases

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets in April so far amid a sharp escalation in COVID-19 cases and the consequent restrictions imposed by various states, unnerving overseas investors. According to the depositories data, overseas investors pulled out Rs 4,643 crore from equities but invested Rs 28 crore in the debt segment.

This translated into a total net withdrawal of Rs 4,615 crore during April 1-16. Previously, FPIs invested Rs 17,304 crore in March, Rs 23,663 crore in February and Rs 14,649 crore in January.

Japan's exports post largest monthly gain since late 2017

Japan's exports posted their strongest growth in more than three years in March, led by a surge in China-bound shipments, in a sign the economic recovery from last year's deep coronavirus slump remains intact. However, the trade data is unlikely to completely ease worries about the fragile recovery of the world's third-largest economy, which took an enormous hit from a collapse in global trade due to the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020.

Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday exports surged 16.1% in March from a year earlier, marking the steepest rise since November 2017. That was better than an 11.6% jump expected by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed a 4.5% contraction in February.

NBFCs seek extension of MSME restructuring scheme until March 2022

Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have requested the Reserve Bank to extend the one-time restructuring scheme of MSME advances till March 31, 2022, as these players are unable to revive their businesses. In February last year, the Reserve Bank had permitted one-time restructuring of existing MSME advances, classified as 'standard' without downgrade in the asset classification subject to certain additional provisioning and other compliances.

NSE co-location case: Sebi slaps fines totalling Rs 18 lakh on two trading members

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday slapped fines totalling Rs 18 lakh on CPR Capital Services Ltd and PRB Securities Pvt Ltd for various violations with respect to using National Stock Exchange's co-location facility.

There were allegations of preferential access to Tick-By-Tick (TBT) data feed being given by the exchange to certain trading members, following which Sebi probed the matter. The two entities were among the trading members that were identified for comprehensive investigation for primary and secondary server connects.

Forex reserves surge by $4.34 billion to $581.21 billion

After declining for two consecutive quarters, the country’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by $4.34 billion to $581.21 billion in the week ended April 9, according to the latest RBI data.

In the previous week ended April 2, the reserves had dipped by $2.42 billion to $576.28 billion. It had dropped by $2.99 billion to $579.28 billion in the week ended March 26, 2021.

Results on April 19

ACC, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Bajaj Consumer Care, CRISIL, Agio Paper & Industries, Pratik Panels, Response Informatics, and Sri Chakra Cement will release quarterly numbers on April 19.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 437.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 657.55 crore in the Indian equity market on April 16, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

2 stocks under F&O ban on NSE

SAIL and Sun TV Network are under the F&O ban for April 19. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

With inputs from Reuters & other agencies.