7360 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT; 7605-7620 NEXT TARGET AREA ABOVE 7487

7360 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT; 7605-7620 NEXT TARGET AREA ABOVE 7487

WORLD MARKETS                                       

US indices plunged 1.1%-2.2% yesterday, despite higher oil prices, as disappointing quarterly reports weighed and the Fed statement signaled weaker US growth.

In its post-meeting statement, the Fed tweaked its view of the U.S. economy, noting that growth had slowed, business investment has moderated and inventory investment has decelerated. The central bank said it is "closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labor market and inflation, and for the balance of risks to the outlook." Stocks sold off on concerns that the Fed could now be signaling weaker growth with its comments, but not offering fresh guidance on rate hikes.

Boeing tumbled 9% for its worst day since Oct. 29, 2001 after the firm gave full-year guidance below expectations. Apple slipped 6.6% percent for its worst day since Jan. 28, 2014 after the iPhone maker reported fewer-than-expected unit sales of its flagship product, for the lowest growth in shipments since the iPhone was launched in 2007. 

Nymex oil rose 85 cents to $32.30 a barrel and Brent added $1.34 to $33.14 a barrel after reports emerged non-OPEC oil producer Russia was discussing the possibility of cooperation with OPEC.

European markets, except a 0.4% cut in Italy, gained 0.5%-1.3%.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended flat after a choppy trading session. Sensex settled at 24492, up 6 points while Nifty added 2 points to finish at 7438. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.3% and 0.6% respectively. BSE Utilities and Power indices climbed 2.2% and 1.6% respectively, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while Capital Goods and Energy indices were the top losers, down 0.7% and 0.4% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks and index futures worth Rs 367 cr and 619 cr respectively but net bought stock futures worth Rs 852 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 500 cr.

Rupee fell 22 paise to end at 68.045/$, a fresh 29-month low.

HDFC reported lower than estimated 6.7% rise in net profit at Rs 1520 cr, hit by higher provisions and lower non-core income. NII rose 8.2% to Rs 2182 cr. Provisions for bad loans increased 51% y-o-y and 31% q-o-q to Rs 68 cr.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Shanghai has opened around a percent lower and other Asian markets are trading with modest gains. SGX Nifty is suggesting about 20 points higher opening for our market.

In yesterday's report we had mentioned that the setup on the hourly chart has turned positive and one should stay long with the stop loss of 7360, which is the immediate support on the hourly chart.

The benchmark ended flat after a choppy trade yesterday and is set to open marginally higher today.

7360 continues to be immediate support with the stop loss of which trading longs can be held on to. 7487, the top made on Monday, is the immediate hurdle, a crossover of which would pave the way for the further upside till about 7605-7620 where the next set of resistance is placed.

Bharti Airtel, Maruti and ICICI Bank will report their quarterly earnings today.