NIFTY REBOUNDS AFTER TESTING 34-DMA SUPPORT; 9218 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE HURDLE

NIFTY REBOUNDS AFTER TESTING 34-DMA SUPPORT; 9218 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE HURDLE

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices soared 0.8%-0.9% after treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration was close to "major tax reform."

American Express reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings while Verizon, another Dow member, missed the mark on both earnings and revenue.

Steel stocks soared after Trump said he directed the Commerce Department to prioritize a probe on foreign steel products' effect on U.S. national security.

Initial jobless claims rose to 244,000, topping expectations, while the Philadelphia Fed business index fell to 22 in April from 32.8 in March. Leading indicators rose more than expected in March.

WTI crude fell 17 cents to $50.27 per barrel.

European markets, barring a 1.5% higher CAC, ended marginally higher. Opinion polls show that the race to elect the next French president is too close to call with both leading candidates losing momentum ahead of Sunday's first-round vote.

In a suspected terrorist incident, one policeman was killed and two were injured after a gunman opened fire in central Paris on Thursday night.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended higher by about a third of a percent after a choppy session, with Nifty breaking the 5-day losing streak. Sensex added 86 points to settle at 29422 while Nifty finished at 9136, up 33 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.7% and 1.1% respectively. BSE Realty and Basic Material indices added 2.1% and 1.5% respectively, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while Bankex and Energy indices fell 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks, index futures and stock futures worth Rs 169 cr, 239 cr and 478 cr respectively. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 9 cr.

Rupee appreciated 2 paise to end at 64.6125/$.

OUTLOOK

Today morning Asian markets, except a modestly lower Shanghai, are up 0.4%-0.8% and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 15 points higher start for our market.

At the risk of repeating, we had been working with the downside target of 34-DMA placed around 9080 after immediate support of 9160 was breached. Nifty touched a low of 9075, testing above mentioned level, on Wednesday and rebounded yesterday to end at 9136.

9080 continues to be immediate important support to eye below which 9000-8950 would be the next support area. 9218, the top made this week, continues to be immediate hurdle.

HDFC Bank and ACC will report their quarterly earnings today.