AWAITING EXIT POLLS

AWAITING EXIT POLLS

WORLD MARKETS

US indices gained 0.8%-1%, extending the winning streak to third consecutive day, on the back of better-than-expected earnings and U.S. economic data.

Walmart and Cisco rose after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Bank shares rose as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed back above 2.4% on stronger-than-forecast data.

Housing starts for April topped expectations while weekly jobless claims dropped more than expected.

Situation worsened on US-China relation front. U.S. President Trump declared on Wednesday a national emergency over threats against American technology. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the addition of Huawei Technologies and its affiliates to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List, making it more difficult for the Chinese telecom giant to conduct business with U.S. companies.

US oil rose 1.4% to $62.87 a barrel while Brent rose 1.2% to $72.62 as tensions in the Middle East grew, with a Saudi-led coalition launching air strikes in retaliation for recent attacks on its oil infrastructure.

European markets rose 0.8%-1.7%

AT HOME

Bulls came back with a vengeance as benchmark indices soared in late noon trade to end with gains of eight to nine tenth of a percent. Sensex settled 278 points higher at 37393 while Nifty finished at 11257, up 100 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained quarter of a percent each. BSE Basic Material and Oil & Gas indices climbed 1.5% each, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while Telecom index tumbled 1.2%, becoming top loser, followed by 0.1% lower Healthcare index.

FIIs net sold stocks and index futures worth Rs 953 cr and 820 cr respectively but net bought stock futures worth Rs 421 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 948 cr.

Rupee appreciated 31 paise to end at 70.02/$.

Bajaj Finance reported strong set of earnings along with stable asset quality. NII climbed 50% y-o-y to Rs 3395 cr while net profit soared 57% to Rs 1176 cr. Gross NPA ratio improved 1 bps q-o-q to 1.54% while net NPA ratio rose 1 bps to 0.63%.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Nikkei and Hang Seng are up 1.2% and 0.1% respectively while Shanghai is off 0.4%. SGX Nifty is suggesting a flattish start for our market.

For past couple of sessions we have been mentioning that 11070-11000 is the important support zone for Nifty while 11320-11350 is the immediate resistance zone.

Nifty yesterday jumped to touch a high of 11281 before closing at 11257 and is set to open flat today.

11320-11350 continues to be resistance zone, a crossover of which will confirm a "Buy" on the hourly chart and would pave the way for further upmove. 20-DMA, placed around 11500, would be the next target if that happens.

11070-11000 continues to be important support zone. If that gets breached, 10585, the bottom made in February, would be the next support.

Bajaj Auto and Dr Reddy will report their quarterly earnings today.

Last phase of general election will take place on Sunday, 19th February. Exit polls will be out in the evening and markets will react to them on Monday.