Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens
The market is expected to open in the green on March 16 as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 24 points.
In the previous session, the BSE Sensex declined 344 points to settle at 57,556, while the Nifty50 closed below psychological 17,000 mark, falling 71 points to 16,972 and formed long bearish candlestick pattern on the daily charts.
The index remained below 200-day SMA (simple moving average) as well as 200-day EMA (exponential moving average) for fourth straight session.
As per the pivot charts, the Nifty has support at 16,937, followed by 16,872 and 16,768. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,145, followed by 17,209 and 17,313.
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
US stocks pared losses late on Wednesday but the Dow and S&P 500 still closed lower, as problems at Credit Suisse revived fears of a banking crisis, eclipsing bets on a smaller US rate hike this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280.83 points, or 0.87 percent, to 31,874.57, the S&P 500 lost 27.36 points, or 0.70 percent, to 3,891.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to 11,434.05.
Asian Markets
Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar as fear of a banking crisis was reignited by fresh troubles at Credit Suisse, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 2 percent in early trade. Australian shares slumped 2 percent as well, led by losses for banking stocks, while miners dropped heavily too as the spectre of worldwide banking stress has traders getting out of all kinds of growth-sensitive assets.
SGX Nifty
Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 24 points.
The Nifty futures were trading around 16,998 levels on the Singaporean exchange.
Oil slumps nearly 5% to lowest in more than a year as banking fears mount
Oil prices plunged by nearly 5 percent on Wednesday to settle at the lowest levels in more than a year on concerns that a crisis of confidence in the banking sector could trigger a recession and cut demand.
Crude recovered some of its earlier losses along with benchmark equity indexes after Swiss regulators pledged a liquidity lifeline to Credit Suisse, which had earlier seen shares fall as much as 30 percent.
Both crude benchmarks hit their lowest levels since December 2021 and have fallen for three straight days. Brent crude settled down $3.76, or 4.9 percent lower, at $73.69 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) closed down $3.72, or 5.2 percent lower, at $67.61.
Trade deficit narrows to $17.43 billion in February 2023; exports, imports contract
India’s trade deficit came in at $17.43 billion in February 2023, which is narrower as compared to $18.75 billion in the year-ago period, as per the official data released on March 15.
The numbers are also marginally lower as compared to the preceding month, as the trade deficit stood at $17.76 billion in January 2023.
The total imports in February amounted to $51.31 billion, which was around 8 percent lower as compared to $55.90 billion in the year-ago period. However, it was higher month-on-month, as the imports stood at $50.66 billion in January.
JPMorgan cranks up equities “underweight” after market rout
JPMorgan’s strategists ratcheted up the investment bank’s “underweight” recommendation on equities on Wednesday and urged switching into cash following the market rout caused by Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.
In a note titled “There are many carry trades, and they can’t all be bailed out”, JPMorgan analysts said: “We maintain a defensive tilt in our model portfolio, and further increase our UW (underweight) in equities vs. raising our cash allocation.”
“When the (global) economy is slowing down and financing costs are rising, all these implicit or explicit carry trades are pressured to unwind, leading to an end of the cycle.
We believe we are in that stage and remain negative on risky asset classes.”
US retail sales and producer prices fall, easing Fed pressure
US retail sales and wholesale prices slipped in February, according to government data released Wednesday, providing some respite for policymakers as the central bank prepares for a crucial interest rate decision next week.
The Federal Reserve has embarked on an aggressive campaign to tackle inflation, and initially signaled it could step up the pace of rate hikes while the world’s biggest economy ran hotter-than-hoped.
For now, cooler economic data, including weakening manufacturing conditions, is likely to take some pressure off the Fed to raise rates more rapidly.
Retail sales contracted in February by 0.4 percent to $698 billion, down from a revised $701 billion a month earlier, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,271.25 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 1,823.94 crore on March 15, the National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed.
Goldman Sachs cuts US GDP forecast after banking crisis
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday lowered its forecast for fourth-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) growth, citing risks to the lending environment as smaller banks pull back on loans to preserve liquidity in the face of a banking crisis.
Analysts at the firm now expect year-over-year growth of 1.2 percent for the quarter, down 0.3 percentage points from their previous estimate.
Goldman Sachs said stress at some banks persists despite federal agencies having acted aggressively to bolster the financial system.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
The National Stock Exchange has retained Indiabulls Housing Finance, and retained GNFC in its F&O ban list for March 16.
Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
ByMoneycontrol
