NIFTY ACHIEVES 10700 TARGET; TRAIL STOP-LOSS TO 10600

NIFTY ACHIEVES 10700 TARGET; TRAIL STOP-LOSS TO 10600

WORLD MARKETS

Dow ended marginally in the red while Nasdaq and S & P 500 ended marginally in the green on Friday as technology shares pulled back.

Microsoft and Intel both reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue Thursday after the bell, while Chevron and Colgate posted quarterly profits that beat expectations.

The U.S. economy grew by 2.3% in the first quarter, as against the expected gain of 2%.

Leaders of South and North Korea met at the border between the two countries for historic face-to-face discussions and pledged to remove the risk of war and collaborate in order to secure complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

European markets, except half a percent lower Italy, gained 0.5%-1.1%.  Britain's GDP grew at 0.1% in the first three months of 2018, marking its weakest quarter of activity in more than five years.

For the week, S & P 500 ended flat whle Nasdaq and Dow fell 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. European markets gained 0.3%-1.8% with FTSE on the top. In Asia, Nikkei surged 1.4%, Shanghai added 0.4% but Hang Seng fell 0.4%.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices gained seven tenth of a percent to close at the highest level since 2nd February. Sensex climbed 256 points to settle at 34970 while Nifty finished at 10692, up 74 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.8% and 0.4% respectively. BSE Bankex added 2%, becoming top gainer among the sectoral indices, followed by 1.4% higher Capital Goods index. IT and Teck indices were the top losers, down 1.1% and 0.7% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks worth Rs 759 cr but net bought index futures and stock futures worth Rs 669 cr and 1109 cr respectively. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 634 cr.

Rupee appreciated 1 paise to end at 66.75/$.

For the week, Sensex and Nifty gained 1.6% and 1.2% respectively, extending the winning streak to fifth straight week.

Maruti earnings missed street expectations on operational and bottom line front. Net profit rose 10% y-o-y to Rs 1882 cr and revenue rose 0.8% to Rs 20594 cr. Operating profit margin rose 20 bps to 14.2%.

Reliance Industries reported largely in-line with estimated numbers however performance of refining and telecom vertical was lower-than-expected. Consolidated net profit rose 17.3% y-o-y to Rs 9459 cr. Turnover rose 39% to Rs 1.3 lac crore. Operating profit rose 51% to Rs 18469 cr. Gross refining margins stood at $11 per barrel.

OUTLOOK

Today Nikkei and Shanghai are shut while Hang Seng SGX Nifty is suggesting about 20 points higher start for our market.

Readers would recall that we had given target of 10705, the 61.8% retracement level of the entire 11171-9951 fall, after 50% retracemenent level of 10560 was taken out. Nifty, on Friday touched a high of 10720 before closing at 10692, achieving this target and vindicating our view.

Next target comes to around 10770, which is the two-third retracement level of entire fall.

Immediate support on the hourly chart has now moved up to 10600, with the stop-loss of which, existing longs should be held on to.

HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank will report their quarterly earnings today.