Benchmark indices ended in the green for the third day in a row on April 29 with Sensex closing the session with a gain of 606 points and Nifty settling 172 points higher at 9,553.35.
According to pivot charts, the key support level for Nifty is placed at 9,430.52, followed by 9,307.68. If the index continues moving up, key resistance levels to watch out for are 9,638.02 and 9,722.68.
The Nifty Bank closed 2.03 percent up at 21,090.20. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 20,539.87, followed by 19,989.53. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 21,494.37 and 21,898.53.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in 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 surged on Wednesday as hopes for an effective COVID-19 treatment prompted a broad rally and helped investors shrug off bleak GDP data and words of warning from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 532.31 points, or 2.21%, to 24,633.86, the S&P 500 gained 76.12 points, or 2.66%, to 2,939.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 306.98 points, or 3.57%, to 8,914.71.
Asian Markets
Asian equity markets were poised to gain on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s rally after positive trial results of an experimental COVID-19 treatment, a US Federal Reserve pledge to shore up the economy and a jump in oil prices.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 2.02%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were down 0.2% at 23:00 GMT.
SGX Nifty
Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 188 points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 9,717 on the Singaporean Exchange around 08:13 hours IST.
Fed keeps rates steady, vows to maintain coronavirus measures
Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday left interest rates near zero and repeated a vow to do what it takes to shore up the economy, saying the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will “weigh heavily” on the near-term outlook and poses “considerable risks” for the medium term.
Japan's factory output, retail sales drop as virus hits economy
Japan’s March factory output fell at the fastest pace in five months, while retail sales also dropped as businesses struggled with the coronavirus pandemic’s sharp hit to overseas and domestic demand.
Official data on Thursday showed factory output slipped 3.7% in March from the previous month, a smaller decline than the 5.2% drop in a Reuters forecast. The reading marked the sharpest fall in production since October last year, and followed a downwardly revised 0.3% drop in the previous month.
China's April factory activity expands for second month
Factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in April, as more businesses resumed work after the coronavirus-led shutdowns, though worldwide lockdowns and sliding global demand are set to hamper a recovery in the embattled economy.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 50.8 in April from 52 in March, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, and above the neutral 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
Infra funding requirement pegged at Rs 111 lakh crore during 2020-25: Finance Ministry
To augment infrastructure and create jobs in the country, a government task force has projected total investment of Rs 111 lakh crore in infra projects over five years, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
The final report of the task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for 2019-2025 presented to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested steps like deepening bond markets, setting up of development financial institutions and land monetisation to meet the funding needs, the ministry said in a statement.
US economy shrank at 4.8% rate last quarter as coronavirus struck
The US economy shrank at a 4.8 percent annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.
The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the first time in six years. And it was the sharpest fall since the economy shrank at an 8.4 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the depths of the Great Recession.
SIDBI extends loan repayment term to 1-year for NBFCs, MFIs
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has extended the repayment period of loans to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), announced under Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) special liquidity scheme, to one year from the 90-day period earlier.
This is a significant development as microlenders felt the earlier repayment rules were stringent considering the present operating environment. Due to COVID-19 induced lockdown, operations of these firms have come to a halt. Most MFIs and NBFCs felt that they wwill not have enough time to make repayments to SIDBI in just 90 days.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 722.08 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), too, bought shares worth Rs 78.67 crore in the Indian equity market on April 29, provisional data available on the NSE showed.
With inputs from Reuters & other agencies
