What changed for the market while you were sleeping? 10 things to know

The Wall Street rallied after data showed that US economic growth was stronger than previously reported last quarter, helped by robust consumer spending. The tech-heavy Nasdaq set a record closing high in overnight trade.

US economic growth slowed less than previously reported in the fourth quarter. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.1 percent annualized rate instead of the previously reported 1.9 percent pace.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.17 points, or 0.33 percent, to 20,728.49, the S&P 500 gained 6.93 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,368.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.80 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,914.34.

SGX Nifty

The Nifty futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange were trading 35 points higher at 9,230 indicating a positive opening for the domestic market.

Fifteen new F&O entrants to be in focus

Friday will see 15 stocks entering the derivative segment. The stocks include names like Reliance Defence and Engineering, InterGlobe Aviation, PVR, Capital First, Muthoot Finance, Dalmia Bharat, Equitas Holdings, Infibeam Incorporation, Ujjivan Financial Services, Suzlon Energy, Piramal Enterprises, Escorts, Shree Cements, Max Financial Services and Indian Bank.

US debt to reach 150 percent of GDP

US debt held by the public will balloon to 150 percent of economic output by 2047 unless tax and spending laws are changed, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Thursday, far exceeding the record level just after World War II, said a report.

Last year, the CBO estimated US public debt would grow to 141 percent of gross domestic product by 2046, while the record was 106 percent of GDP in 1946. That level would be reached in 2035, the CBO said.

Under this year's projection, CBO predicts public debt for 2017 to be about 77 percent of GDP, growing to 89 percent in 2027, and 113 percent in 2037, the report said.

GST Council to finalise draft rules today

The 13th sitting of the GST Council will take place on Friday in the backdrop of four key Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bills - the Centre GST, the Union Territory GST, the Integrated GST, and the compensation law getting the Parliamentary nod.

At the Council meetings, the Centre and the States finalise draft rules for various aspects of the GST and review the preparedness for the roll out of the new tax regime, said a report.

At Friday’s meeting the Council will finalise rules on four issues relating to composition, transition, valuation and input tax credit, it said.

Taxman to seek info on deposits made in demonetisation

The taxman will seek data on deposits made by an assessee during the demonetisation period as part of the new Income Tax Returns (ITRs) that would be notified soon for the assessment year 2017-18.

Officials said the tax department is understood to have introduced a new column for obtaining details of all deposits made by an individual or entity during the demonetisation period between November 8 and December 30 last year.

March series rollover

The Nifty future has seen rollover of around 67 percent as per its provisional data, which is in line with the average of the last couple of series, but lower roll cost indicates less aggression of bull considering the fact that Nifty is trading near the index’s lifetime high territory.

Top ten stocks which saw the highest rollover include names like TV18 Broadcast, South India Bank, Tata Communication, Castrol India, Tata Global, Canara Bank, Divi’s Laboratories, JP Associates, IRB Infrastructure, and United Spirits.

Rupee closes little changed

The Indian rupee on Thursday closed little changed against the USD. For the year, the rupee has gained 4.3 percent, helped by massive buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) of USD 4.86 billion and USD 3.09 billion from local equity and debt markets, respectively.

The rupee closed at 64.92, down 0.01 percent from its Wednesday’s close of 64.91. The rupee opened at 64.88 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.88 and 64.99, respectively.

Macroeconomic Data

A flurry of macroeconomic data is expected on Friday, 31 March. The government will unveil external debt data followed by infrastructure output data for the month of February, foreign reserves, bank deposit growth on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and bank loan growth.

India's annual infrastructure output growth slowed to 3.4 percent in January from 5.6 percent in the previous month on a fall in refinery production. The output growth came in at 4.8 percent for the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2017.

Novartis in sight for these drugmakers

Leading Indian generic drug makers like Lupin, Cipla, Zydus Cadila and Sun Pharma are eyeing to acquire the respiratory drugs portfolio of Novartis AG that the Swiss giant is seeking to divest, said an ET report quoting people who are directly aware of the matter.

The portfolio of brands on offer could fetch as much as USD 500 million in a sale, they said. The Novartis portfolio includes top-selling brand TOBI Podhaler, a drug prescribed for symptomatic relief to patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, a genetic lung disorder.

Nifty forms short bull candle

The Nifty index closed with modest gains and made a small bull candle on the daily candlestick charts on Thursday. The index rose over 200 points or 2.6 percent in March series.

A short bull candle is formed when the index trades higher throughout the sessions but in a defined range. The length of the candle signifies the range for the day. In general, the longer the candle, the more intense is the buying or selling activity.

As long as Nifty trades above 9,133-9,119, the index is on track to hit fresh record highs above 9,218 in April series, suggest experts.