NIFTY BREAKS 9160 SUPPORT; 9075 NEXT

NIFTY BREAKS 9160 SUPPORT; 9075 NEXT

WORLD MARKETS                             

US markets were shut on Friday for Good Friday. In Thursday US indices fell 0.5%-0.7% after the U.S. dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan.

The U.S. used GBU-43 bomb on a cave complex believed to have ISIS fighters.

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all reported quarterly results on Thursday. JPMorgan and Citigroup topped expectations while Wells Fargo posted mixed results.

Jobless claims came in at 234,000, below expectations, while March PPI declined 0.1%. Consumer sentiment came in at 98, beating expectations.

Earlier Trump said that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and suggested the dollar is too strong. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare before moving on to tax reform.

Gold rose $10 to $1288 per ounce. US 10-year note yield hit its lowest since mid-November.

European markets saw cuts of 0.3%-1.2%

For the week, US indices fell 1%-1.2%. European markets lost 0.3%-1.2%. In Asia, Hang Seng was flat, but Shanghai and Nikkei lost 0.3% and 1.3% respectively.

Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea heightened after a Korean official on Friday blamed President Donald Trump for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In an interview, Vice Minister Han Song Ryol warned the U.S. against provoking North Korea military and said, "We will go to war if they choose."

AT HOME

Benchmark indices slipped six tenth of a percent on the last day of the truncated trading week to close at the lowest level since 29th March. Sensex lost 182 points to settle at 29461 while Nifty finished at 9151, down 53 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices however managed to gain 0.03% and 0.2% respectively. BSE Metal and IT indices tumbled 2.8% and 2.7% respectively, becoming top losers among the sectoral indices while Oil & Gas and Realty indices were the top gainers, up 1% and 0.9% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks and stock futures worth Rs 408 cr and 556 cr respectively but net bought index futures worth Rs 147 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 65 cr.

Rupee appreciated 28 paise to end at 64.4975/$.

Infosys' fourth quarter earnings barring bottom-line missed market expectations. Even its FY18 guidance was lower than estimates. The company reported 2.8% q-o-q fall in quarterly net profit at Rs 3603 cr. Revenue fell 0.9% to Rs 17120 cr. Dollar revenue fell 0.7% to USD 2569 mn. The company guided for a 6.5-8.5% growth in constant currency revenue for FY18. EBIT margin guidance stood at 23-25%.

For the week, Sensex and Nifty lost 0.8% and 0.5% respectively.

Oil marketing companies hiked petrol and diesel price by Rs 1.39 and 1.04 per litre.

OUTLOOK

Over the weekend, North Korea tested a missile which "blew up" soon after launch. The test came before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Seoul for a trip that aims to reassure American allies in Asia.

China's Q1 GDP growth has come in at 1.3% q-o-q vs 1.6% expected; Y-o-Y growth stands at 6.9%, which is higher than expected 6.8%.

Asian markets are trading with cuts of 0.4%-0.7% and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 25 points lower start for our market.

For past couple of sessions, we had been mentioning that 9160, where 20-DMA as well as a trendline adjoining recent bottoms on daily chart is placed, continue to be immediate support to eye.

The benchmark, after holding on to this support for couple of days, broke below it on Friday.

Next support comes around 9075, where 34-DMA is palced. Immediate support on the hourly chart is placed around 9200 above which 9274, the top made in early April, would be the next hurdle to eye.