What changed for the market while you were sleeping? Top 15 things to know

The Nifty50 after opening higher extended its rally and hit a fresh intraday record high in early trade on August 21, but immediately cooled off to remain in the range of 42 points for rest of the session before ending the day at a record closing high.

The index formed a bearish candle on an intraday basis on daily candlestick charts as the closing value was lower than what it opened at. The pattern formed by Nifty was more like Hanging Man and Dragonfly Doji on the daily charts.

The Nifty50 opened the session at 11,576.20 and closed at 11,570.90 with gain of 19.10 points from its previous closing level of 11,551.75. The index gained to hit an intraday all-time of 11,581.75 which made a small upper shadow while it slipped to an intraday low of 11,539.60 which resulted in long lower shadow.

India VIX fell by 1.36 percent to 12.85 levels and overall lower volatility suggests a tight grip of the bulls in the market.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 11,546.4, followed by 11,521.9. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,588.6 and 11,606.3.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 28,257.90, down 16.35 points on Tuesday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 28,171.24, followed by 28,084.57. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 28,325.24, followed by 28,392.57.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

US stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq gaining on the strength of tech stocks while the S&P 500 was little changed as it marked its longest bull-market run. Energy stocks rose 1.2 percent as oil prices jumped, while retailers gained after Target Corp and Lowe’s Companies Inc announced quarterly results. The biggest boost to the S&P 500 came from technology stocks which advanced 0.5 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.69 points, or 0.34 percent, to 25,733.6, the S&P 500 lost 1.14 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,861.82 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.92 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,889.10.

Asian shares started cautiously on Thursday as a deadline loomed for fresh US tariffs on China and amid speculation US President Donald Trump’s political position could be threatened by the legal woes of two former advisers.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi index each climbed 0.2 percent.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to positive opening for the broader index in India, a gain of 8 points or 0.07 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,636- level on the Singaporean Exchange.

US and Chinese officials met for the first time in more than two months to try find a way out of their deepening trade conflict, but there was no evidence that the low-key discussions would halt a new round of US tariffs due on Thursday.

The talks are the first formal interaction between US and Chinese officials since June, when US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross unsuccessfully sought to secure major Chinese purchases of US soybeans and liquefied natural gas. Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that he was hopeful for a “good outcome”.

High oil prices clubbed with a weakening rupee have put pressure on the country's import bill, which is expected to widen the current account deficit (CAD) in FY19. "CAD will not be as good as last year... but it won't be as bad as it is being predicted because oil prices are not expected to rise," a top Finance Ministry official said on August 21. He added that CAD will be in the +/- 10 basis points range of internal government estimations.

CAD, a key measure of a country’s macroeconomic stability, is an excess of the sum of exports of goods and services, as well as income receivable over imports and income payable.

US central bankers discussed raising interest rates soon to counter excessive economic strength but also examined how global trade disputes could batter businesses and households, minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed on Wednesday.

Many participants said it would likely soon be appropriate to raise interest rates. They said they generally expected that US GDP growth would slow in second half of 2018 but remain above potential. Escalation of trade disputes was a potentially consequential downside risk for US economy.

Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said today that he was more concerned about the rising trade deficit than the falling rupee, and called for efforts to push exports. He also said that there is a constituency which benefits from strong rupee but it needs to be put on the back foot.

"I don't believe in strong rupee. It will be very difficult for the government to try and push up the rupee," Kumar said at an event organised by industry body CII.

"There is a constituency that benefits from strong rupee...The constituency should be put on back foot," he added. The rupee on August 16 had slumped to a life-time low of 70.32 on strong demand for the US dollar.

Oil prices rose 3 percent on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures hitting a three-week high, after US government data showed a larger-than-expected draw in crude inventories and as Washington’s sanctions on Iran signalled tightening supplies.

Brent crude futures rose USD 2.15, or 3 percent, to settle at USD 74.78 a barrel. The global benchmark reached USD 75.00 during the session, the highest since July 31. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose USD 2.02 to settle at USD 67.86 a barrel, a 3.1 percent gain.

In a stern warning to bankers, the Finance Ministry has asked chief executives of public sector banks (PSBs) to check all NPA accounts exceeding Rs 50 crore for fraud or they could face criminal conspiracy charges, according to official sources.

This missive comes in the light of arrest of Bhushan Steel's erstwhile promoter Neeraj Singal by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for allegedly siphoning off funds.

The sources said that bankers could be held accountable under Section 120B of Indian Penal Code if they fail to report fraud in an account which is later unearthed by investigating agencies, sources said.

In a relief to FPIs, markets regulator Sebi today extended the deadline by two months till December for providing a list of beneficial owners, and assured them that issues raised will be looked into by an expert panel. The regulator, in April, had asked Category II and III foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to provide list of their beneficial owner (BO) in a prescribed format within six months. Securities and Exchange Board of India said it has extended the deadline to provide such list to December 31, 2018.

The decision comes after Sebi received representations from market participants, seeking review and additional time for complying with the guidelines. BO is the natural person, who ultimately owns or controls an FPI.

India’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.7 percent in the April-June quarter on the back of pick up in leading indicators like cement production, sale of vehicles and bank credit, a report by SBI said. SBI has based its assessment on its Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), which takes into account 18 major macro-economic indicators.

“The CLI is signalling that the economic activity for Q1 FY19 has picked up substantially and the GVA (Gross Value Added) growth would be 7.6 percent,” it said in its research report ‘Ecowrap’. However, the headline GVA is being possibly pulled down by a weak agriculture growth, it added. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to release quarterly GDP estimate for April-June 2018 on August 31.

The rupee on Tuesday erased all its early strong gains and eventually ended just a paisa higher at 69.81 against the US dollar due to fag-end demand for the greenback from importers amid lacklustre local equities. Despite a firm start, the domestic currency showed signs of fatigue and succumbed to renewed dollar pressure even as market participants stayed away from taking fresh positions ahead of a trading holiday.

In the cross currency trade, the rupee retreated sharply against the euro to end at 80.44 compared to 79.72 and fell back against the Japanese yen to finish at 63.33 per 100 yens from 63.15 yesterday. It also drifted against British pound to close at 89.61 per pound from 89.11 earlier.

Jewellery retailer Senco Gold has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise an estimated Rs 600 crore through an initial public offering. The company is primarily engaged in selling gold and diamond jewellery and also sell jewellery made of silver, platinum and precious and semi-precious stones and metals.

The initial public offering (IPO) comprises equity shares of Senco Gold aggregating up to Rs 600 crore, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi. Funds raised through the issue will be used for financing the establishment of new company operated showrooms, to fund working capital requirements and for other general corporate purposes.

IDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, IIFL Holdings, Emkay Global Financial Services and YES Securities will manage the company's initial share-sale.

Payment solutions provider AGS Transact Technologies has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to mop-up Rs 1,000 crore through an initial public offer. In addition, another firm Harsha Engineers, manufacturer of precision bearing cages, has also approached Sebi to float an IPO.

AGS' initial share sale comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 400 crore, besides, an offer for sale worth up to Rs 600 crore by the existing shareholders, draft papers filed with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed. ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HDFC Bank, IIFL Holdings, IndusInd Bank and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt Ltd will manage the company's issue.

Harsha Engineers, the largest manufacturer of precision bearing cages in organised sector in India, has filed draft red herring prospectus with SEBI on August 20 for its IPO which comprises fresh issue as well as offer for sale.

The initial public offering comprises a fresh issuance aggregating up to Rs 370 crore and an offer for sale of up to 3,31,250 equity shares each by Rajendra Shantilal Shah, Harish Ranjit Rangwala, Nirmala Rajendra Shah and Charusheela Harish Rangwala. Axis Capital and Edelweiss Financial Services are the book running lead managers.

Securities in ban period for the next day's trade under the F&O segment includes companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

For August 23, Raymond and Jain Irrigation Systems are present in this list.