NIFTY EXTENDS CONSOLIDATION WITHIN 10638-10398 RANGE

NIFTY EXTENDS CONSOLIDATION WITHIN 10638-10398 RANGE

WORLD MARKETS

US indices gained 1%-1.9%, extending the winning streak to fourth straight day.

US consumer price index rose 0.5% last month, topping the 0.3% forecast. Retail sales decreased 0.3% last month, compared to projection of 0.2% increase.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped to 2.92%, its highest levels in four years following the inflation data release.

US crude rallied 2.4% to $60.60 and Brent climbed 2.6% to $64.36 a barrel on the back of weaker greenback and a less-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories.

European markets gained 0.6%-1.8% with Italy leading the gains. Eurozone GDP increased 0.6% from the previous three months.

AT HOME

After gaining about half a percent in the opening trade, benchmark indices ended lower by four tenth of a percent on the back of last hour sell-off. Sensex settled 144 points lower at 34155 while Nifty lost 39 points to finish at 10500. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices however managed to gain 0.2% each. BSE Bankex nosedived 1.6%, becoming top loser among the sectoral indices, followed by 0.7% Power and Healthcare indices. Energy and Telecom indices were the top gainers, up 0.8% and 0.7% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks worth Rs 729 cr but net bought index futures and stock futures worth Rs 1039 cr and 98 cr respectively. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 152 cr.

Rupee appreciated 23 paise to end at 64.09/$.

PSU Banks, led by PNB, collapsed after PNB detected some fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,300 crore in its Mumbai branch.

Sun Pharma reported 75% drop in December quarter net profit at Rs 365 cr hit by plunging US sales and one-time deferred tax adjustment of Rs 513 cr. Revenue fell 16% to Rs 6653 cr. EBIDTA margin stood at 21.2%.

OUTLOOK

Markets in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are closed today for the Lunar New Year holiday. Hang Seng and Nikkei are up a percent and half. SGX Nifty is suggesting about 80 points higher start for our market.

In yesterday's report we had mentioned that Nifty is in a consolidation mode after making a bottom of 10276 on 6th February and that 10638-10398 is the immediate range to work with. Nifty, after making a high of 10590 in the opening trade, slipped to end at 10500, extending the consolidation within the above mentioned range.

A higher opening today would take the benchmark close to 10600 mark. 10638, the top made last Thursday, continues to be immediate hurdle above which 10725, the 50% retracement level of the recent 11171-10276 fall, would be the next target to eye. 10398, the bottom made on Friday, continues to be immediate support, below which, 10276 would be the crucial support to eye.