7980 IS THE HURDLE; 7800-7840 CONTINUES TO BE SUPPORT AREA

7980 IS THE HURDLE; 7800-7840 CONTINUES TO BE SUPPORT AREA

WORLD MARKETS                             

Dow gained 0.1%, S & P 500 ended flat while Nasdaq lost 0.8% on Friday.

Microsot plunged 7.2%, its worst day since Jan. 27 2015, after missing on earnings. Alphabet declined more than 5 percent after reporting earnings that missed on both the top and bottom line. Caterpillar reported earnings of 67 cents a share, down from $2.07 a year ago and also trimmed its 2016 sales outlook range to the lower end of the previously forecast range, despite recent gains in commodity prices and signs of improvement in the China market. On the flip side McDonalds's rose 6.2% after reporting earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line, and gave comparable same-store sales that topped expectations.

Energy sector was the top gainer as Nymex oil rose 55 cents or 1.3% to $43.73 a barrel. The weekly oil rig count showed a decline of 8 to 343, down 360 rigs from the same period last year.

In economic news, the Markit flash U.S. manufacturing PMI fell to 50.8 in April from 51.5 in March.

Dollar index gained 0.6%. Yen fell to 111.68, its weakest level against the dollar since April 1.

European markets, weighed down by Auto and basic resources sector, lost 0.2%-1.1%. Volkswagen plunged nearly 6% after reporting loss of 1.582 bn euros for 2015. Daimler fell 5% after the automaker announced it would be conducting an investigation into its emissions testing process, upon request of the U.S. Department of Justice. On the data front, Eurozone flash composite PMI for April fell to 53.0, down from March's 53.1.

Earlier, Nikkei rose 1.2% on report that the Bank of Japan may consider applying negative rates to its lending program for financial institutions. Shanghai inched up 0.2% while Hang Seng fell 0.7%.

For the week, Dow and S & P 500 added about half a percent while Nasdaq lost 0.6%. In Europe, FTSE lost half a percent while CAC and DAX gained 1.7% and 3.2% respectively. In Asia, Shanghai tumbled 3.9%, suffering its worst weekly fall since January. On the other extreme, Nikkei climbed 4.3%. Hang Seng rose 0.7%. Gold lost 0.4% for its second-straight weekly decline. Oil soared 8% for its third straight week of gains.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended marginally lower after trading in a narrow range. Sensex lost 42 points to settle at 25838 while Nifty ended at 7899, down 13 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices ended marginally higher. Auto index and Bankex gained 0.9% and 0.4% respectively, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while FMCG and IT indices were the top losers, down 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.

FIIs net bought stocks, index futures and stock futures worth Rs 191 cr, 542 cr and 60 cr respectively. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 169 cr.

Rupee depreciated 10 paise to end at 66.49/$.

HDFC Bank reported slightly lower-than-expected 20.2% growth in quarterly net profit at Rs 3374 cr. NII grew at better-than-expected 24% to Rs 7453 cr. Gross NPA ratio improved 3 bps sequentially to 0.94% while net NPA ratio was better by 1 bps at 0.28%.

Reliance Industries reported better-than-expected profit of Rs 7320 cr for the quarter ending March as falling crude oil prices boosted refining and petchem margins. GRMs were in-line with estimate at USD 10.80 per barrel. Refining segment reported record EBIT of Rs 6394 cr, up 30.4% y-o-y. Petchem EBIT rose 35.4% to Rs. 2713 cr. EBIT from oil and gas business fell 97% to Rs 14 cr.

Cairn India posted biggest quarterly loss of Rs 10,948 crore mainly because of impairment loss on goodwill and non-producing oil and gas assets due to drop in oil prices. The company realised an average of USD 27.8 per barrel for oil it produced in January-March, down 43% from USD 48.6 per barrel a year ago. Gas price realisation was however up 19% at USD 7.4 per million standard cubic feet.

For the week, Sensex and Nifty gained 0.8% and 0.6% respectively, extending the winning streak to second week.

OUTLOOK

Today morning Asian markets are trading with cuts of 0.3%-0.9% and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 15 points lower opening for our market.

Nifty, last week, after being resisted at 7980 hurdle, retraced to end at 7899. 7980, as we have been mentioning is where previous two tops made in December 2015 and January 2016 as well as the 50% retracement level of the entire 9119-6825 fall. A crossover of this hurdle is required for fresh upmove.

On the way down 7800-7840 continues to be the support area to eye.

Traders are advised to wait for the crossover above mentioned resistance and support levels for taking fresh view on Nifty.

Ultratech Cement will report its quarterly earnings today.