10612 IS NEXT SUPPORT; 10815 IMMEDIATE HURDLE

10612 IS NEXT SUPPORT; 10815 IMMEDIATE HURDLE

WORLD MARKETS

Dow and S & P 500 fell 0.8% each while Nasdaq slipped 1.1% on the back of weak guidance from Caterpillar and Nvidia, which stoked fears about the Chinese economy slowing.

Caterpillar nosedived 9% after posting weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter because of lower demand in China. The company also issued disappointing guidance. Nvidia, meanwhile, tumbled 14% after slashing its fourth-quarter revenue guidance citing "deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly in China,".

In another development, the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday filed criminal charges to officially request the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The Justice Department also announced charges against Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile.

US oil slipped $1.70, or 3.2% to $51.99 a barrel, its lowest closing price in two weeks. Brent fell $1.71, or 2.8%, to $59.93.

European markets fell 0.6%-1.3%.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices tumbled 1%, extending the losing streak to second straight day. Sensex settled at 35656, down 368 points while Nifty lost 119 points to finish at 10661. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices nosedived 1.8% and 2% respectively. Except 0.8% and 0.4% higher Teck and IT indices respectively, all the BSE sectoral indices ended in red with Basic Material and Healthcare indices leading the losses, down 2.1%, followed by 2% lower Finance index.

FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 223 cr and 417 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 460 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 92 cr.

Rupee appreciated 7 paise to end at 71.70/$.

ZEEL soared after lenders and creditors of the company gave debt-ridden Subhash Chandra's Essel Group a three-month time till April to find a buyer for half his stake in the flagship Zee Entertainment Enterprises to repay dues.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced that his party would ensure "minimum income guarantee" for every poor person in the country if it is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Asian markets are trading with cuts of 0.2%-0.9% and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 15 points lower start for our market.

After Nifty broke the 34-DMA support placed around 10800, we had given downside target of 10700 in yesterday's report. Nifty yesterday plunged all the way to 10630 before closing at 10661 and is set to open around 10650 today.

10612, the 38.2% retracement level of the entire 10004-10987 upmove, is the next support to eye.

34-DMA, now placed around 10815, will act as immediate hurdle, with the stop-loss of which, trading shorts can be held on to.

Axis Bank, HDFC, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserve will report their quarterly earnings today.