Top 10 things to know before the market opens today

Stock Market News

The market is expected to open in the green as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 64 points.

The BSE Sensex fell more than 300 points to 53,749, and the Nifty50 declined nearly 100 points to 16,026 and formed a bearish candle for the third straight session, while the broader markets were hit quite hard by bears. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices have corrected 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent respectively.

As per the pivot charts, the key support level for the Nifty is placed at 15,947, followed by 15,869. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 16,164 and 16,302.

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

Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, boosted after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting showed policymakers unanimously felt the US economy was very strong as they grappled with reining in inflation without triggering a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 191.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 32,120.28, the S&P 500 gained 37.25 points, or 0.95 percent, to 3,978.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 170.29 points, or 1.51 percent, to 11,434.74.

Asian Markets

Asian share markets slipped on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's early May meeting showed a majority backing half-percentage-point rate hikes in June and July, and as persistent concerns over global growth sapped confidence.

Lingering investor concern over those factors dragged MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.54% after trading higher early in the morning. Australian shares slipped 0.47% while Japan's Nikkei stock index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.13%. Seoul's Kospi was 0.25% higher after the central bank rate announcement came in line with expectations.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 64 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 16,085 levels on the Singaporean exchange.

Fed embraces 50-basis-point rate hikes in June, July to curb 'very high' inflation

All participants at the Federal Reserve's May 3-4 policy meeting backed a half-percentage-point rate increase to combat inflation they agreed had become a key threat to the economy's performance and was at risk of racing higher without action by the U.S. central bank, minutes of the session showed on Wednesday.

This month's 50-basis-point hike in the Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate was the first of that size in more than 20 years, and "most participants" judged that further hikesof that magnitude would "likely be appropriate" at the Fed's policy meetings in June and July, according to the minutes.

"All participants concurred that the U.S. economy was very strong, the labor market was extremely tight, and inflation was very high," the minutes said, with risks of even faster inflation "skewed to the upside" given ongoing global supply problems, the Ukraine war, and continued coronavirus lockdowns in China.

Oil firms on tight supply though EU ban on Russian oil still uncertain

Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending a cautious rally this week on signs of tight supply while the European Union (EU) wrangles with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter, after it invaded Ukraine.

Brent crude futures for July settlement inched up 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $114.10 a barrel at 0142 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery climbed 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $110.55 a barrel.

Coal India Q4 Result | Net profit grows 46.3% YoY to Rs 6,715 crore, revenue up 22.5%

Coal India Limited (Coal India), on May 25, reported a 46 percent growth in consolidated net profit of Rs 6,715 crore in the fourth quarter of FY2021-22 as against Rs 4,589 crore recorded a year ago. On a sequential basis, the profit has jumped 47.4 percent from Rs 4,557 crore earned during the October–December period.

Consolidated revenues for the state-owned coal producer rose 22.5 percent on-year to Rs 32,707 crore as compared to a revenue of Rs 26,700 crore registered in the year-ago quarter. On a sequential basis, the revenue is higher by 15 percent from the revenue of Rs 28,433 crore recorded in the previous quarter.

Results on May 26

Hindalco Industries, Motherson Sumi Systems, Muthoot Finance, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Aarti Surfactants, Oberoi Realty, Aban Offshore, AllCargo Logistics, Ansal API, Astrazeneca Pharma, Berger Paints, Colgate Palmolive India, Cummins India, Good Year India, Gujarat State Fertilizers Corporation, India Glycols, Jet Airways, Kirloskar Industries, Chemcon Speciality Chemicals, NMDC, Page Industries, Prestige Estate Projects, Quess Corp, Shalimar Paints, and Sudarshan Chemicals will be in focus on May 26 ahead of their March quarter earnings

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 1,803.06 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, to the tune of Rs 2,229.82 crore worth of shares on May 25, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Power Ministry announces new scheme for discoms to pay off dues, industry has questions over financing

The power ministry notified on May 25 that it is working on a scheme to liquidate the past dues of power distribution companies (discoms) to provide relief to the entire value chain in the power sector which has been reeling under the pressure of non-payment.

But the notification has left power sector officials with many questions, and some skepticism over its success. This is after all the second such scheme in two years. The ministry is hopeful that the new scheme would provide the much-needed liquidity to the power generating companies, and the measures being planned will ensure that discoms pay their dues regularly.

“These concessions should be only given if the generators can be insulated from future defaults. Along with the concession, a mechanism needs to be put in place like a tri-partied agreement, which insulates the generators from any future defaults. Otherwise it becomes a never ending cycle of default,” Ashok Khurana, director general, Association of Power Producers, told Moneycontrol .

Sebi exempts government from making open offer to VIL shareholders

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday exempted the government from making an open offer to the shareholders of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) pursuant to its proposed acquisition of over 33 percent stake in the telecom operator on the conversion of dues into equity.

In a nine-page order, Sebi said the acquisition of shareholding in VIL by the Government of India (GoI) is proposed with the sole intent of saving the larger public interest.

"Moreover, GoI has no intent to participate in the management or the Board of the VIL and there is going to be no change in control of the VIL. Further, such holding of GoI shall be classified as public shareholding," Sebi said while giving the exemption from making the open offer.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies