NIFTY CONSOLIDATES WITH A NEGATIVE BIAS; 8650 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE HURDLE

NIFTY CONSOLIDATES WITH A NEGATIVE BIAS; 8650 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE HURDLE

WORLD MARKETS                             

Dow and S & P 500 lost 0.6% each while Nasdaq fell 0.3% yesterday amid concerns of the dollar's strength on corporate earnings.

February new home sales rose 7.8% to 539,000, the highest level in seven years. Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in February, in line with expectations.

Dollar index rose to 97.23 from 97. Nymex oil rose 6 cents to $47.51 a barrel.

European markets, except a modestly lower FTSE, gained between 0.7%-1.2%. Eurozone composite PMI jumped to a 46-month high of 54.1 in March, well above forecasts

A Greek government official said that the country was going to present a reform package to the Eurogroup of finance ministers by next Monday.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended marginally lower after a choppy trading session, extending the losing streak to fifth straight day. Sensex settled at 28162, down 30 points while Nifty lost 8 points to finish at 8543. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices lost 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. BSE Healthcare and Consumer Durable indices gained 1.8% and 0.7% respectively, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while Auto index and Bankex were the top losers, down 1.2% and 0.6% respectively.

FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 738 cr and 421 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 349 cr. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 632 cr.

Rupee appreciated 1 paise to end at 62.26/$.

OUTLOOK

Today morning Asian markets are trading mixed with modest changes and SGX Nifty is suggesting a flattish start for our market.

As we have been mentioning Nifty is witnessing retracement of the entire 7961-9119 upmove. The benchmark has already retraced 50% of this upmove at 8540 and crucial 61.8% retracement level is placed at 8403. Before that, 8470, the bottom made in Friday, would be the intermediate support to eye.

On the way up, 8650 continues to be immediate resistance, with the stop loss of which short positions can be held on to. Above 8650, 34-DMA, placed around 8740, would be the tougher hurdle to eye.