Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens
India equity benchmarks are expected to open on a flat to positive note on March 23, as trends in SGX Nifty indicate a muted start for the broader index in India with a loss of 56 points.
In the previous session, the BSE Sensex rallied 140 points to close at 58,215, while Nifty added 44.40 points or 0.26 percent to settle at 17,151.90. The broader markets also gained more strength, rising for second straight session. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices rose third of a percent and half a percent respectively.
As per the pivot charts, the Nifty has support at 17,118, followed by 17,094 and 17,094. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,194, followed by 17,217 and 17,255.
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 gyrated to end sharply lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25 basis point policy hike, while hinting that it was on the verge of pausing future increases in view of recent turmoil in the financial sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 530.49 points, or 1.63 percent, to 32,030.11, the S&P 500 lost 65.9 points, or 1.65 percent, to 3,936.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 190.15 points, or 1.6 percent, to 11,669.96.
Asian Markets
Asian markets are trading mixed in the early trade on Thursday with Nikkei and Straits Times down 0.5 percent teach, while Hang Seng was up marginally.
SGX Nifty
Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative opening for the broader index in India with a loss of 56.50 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 17,101.50 levels on the Singaporean exchange.
Oil prices fall as investors weigh Fed chair comments, rate hike
Oil prices fell on Thursday following three sessions of gains, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell re-stated his commitment to curbing inflation, including the possibility of more interest rate rises.
Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1 percent, to $75.89 a barrel by 00:09 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped 84 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $70.06.
Both crude benchmarks had settled on Wednesday at their highest close since March 14.
US Fed raises rates by quarter point
The US Federal Reserve on March 22 announced a quarter point-hike in interest rates, refusing to lower guard on a persistently high inflation but assured markets battered by a banking crisis that it has enough firepower to avert a contagion.
The Fed increased its funds target rate to a range of 4.75-5 percent, a level last seen prior to the 2007-08 global financial crisis.
The hike in rates, which came broadly on the expected lines, will further add to the cost of funds and refuel the risks of a potential recession that will have rippling effects not only in the world’s largest economy but elsewhere on the globe.
The rate hike was necessitated by a sticky high inflation.
Global Surfaces to debut today
Engineered quartz manufacturer Global Surfaces is going to make debut on the exchanges today.
The natural stones processing company has received 12.21 times subscription to its maiden public issue which was opened for bidding during March 13-15, 2023.
This was the second public issue in the current calendar year after Divgi TorqTransfer Systems.
The initial public offering fetched Global Surfaces Rs 154.98 crore which included a fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 119.28 crore at the higher end of the price band of Rs 133-140 per share.
India may have to cut capex in FY24 as revenue assumptions may be inflated: Fitch Ratings
India has some room to cut capital expenditure in FY24 as there may be pressure on revenue as the buoyancy assumptions in the Union budget may be inflated, Fitch Ratings said.
“The government’s large ramp up in capex plans in FY24, does give a bit of room for them to manage/cut spending on the capex side, if there are pressures elsewhere in the budget.
The revenue buoyancy assumption in the budget may be on the high side when compared to the historical performance, which could lead to pressure on revenues,” Jeremy Zook, Director, Asia Sovereign Ratings at Fitch, told Moneycontrol in an interview.
The government’s capex plans are positive for the economic outlook. India still has a lot of infrastructure needs and the government can help with this significant increase in capex. But in FY24, if growth comes below our current 6.2 percent forecast, it could begin to add to some pressures on the revenue side. So, certainly, there are a lot of risks,” he said.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) have turn net buyers for first time in last 10 straight sessions, buying shares worth Rs 61.72 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased shares worth Rs 383.51 crore on March 22, the National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed.
Fed in spotlight with focus on rate rises, bank stability
An already widely anticipated US Federal Reserve meeting assumed yet greater significance on Wednesday as investors awaited a signal on whether the recent turmoil in banking made interest rate rises less pressing.
Traders are split over whether the US central bank will be forced to pause its hiking cycle as authorities in the United States urgently explore ways to bolster financial stability, along with tackling the problems facing First Republic Bank.
The Fed, whose relentless rate hikes to rein in inflation are among factors blamed for the biggest banking sector meltdown since the 2008 financial crisis, is tipped to raise rates by 25 basis points, from 50 bps foreseen before the shake-up.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
The National Stock Exchange has retained Biocon and Indiabulls Housing Finance on its F&O ban list for March 23.
Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
ByMoneycontrol
