14900 IS THE IMMEDIATE HURDLE; 14650-14600 SUPPORT ZONE

 

14900 IS THE IMMEDIATE HURDLE; 14650-14600 SUPPORT ZONE

 

WORLD MARKETS

 

US markets were shut on Friday for Good Friday. On Thursday, US indices gained 0.5%-1.8% on Thursday with the Nasdaq leading the tally as bond yields continued to retreat from recent highs. S & P 500 crossed the 4,000 threshold for the first time.

 

The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to around 1.68%. Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,727.86 per ounce.

 

ISM manufacturing index jumped to 64.7 last month from 60.8 in February, it's highest since December 1983. Weekly jobless claims totaled 719,000, higher than the 675,000 expected.

 

Brent crude futures climbed $2.38, or 3.8%, to $65.08 per barrel while WTI futures stood at $61.63, up more than 4%. The OPEC+ alliance decided to gradually curb existing output cuts beginning next month. Starting in May an additional 350,000 barrels per day will be added to production, with another 350,000 addition in June. Come July, output will be increased by 450,000 barrels per day.

 

European markets rose 0.4%-0.7%. IHS Markit’s March final manufacturing PMI for Eurozne came in at 62.5, its fastest pace on record and compared to February’s 57.9. The bounce was led by Germany, which notched a reading of 66.6 thanks to resurgent demand from the U.S. and China. However, German retail sales in February fell short of expectations to rise by 1.2%, a full 9% below the same time last year.

 

China's Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI for March came in at 50.6, compared to February’s reading of 50.9.

 

Data on Friday showed US March nonfarm payrolls jumped 916,000, its fastest pace since August and much higher than the expected 675000 figure. Unemployment rate fell to 6%, meeting expectation. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.688% while that on the 30-year Treasury bond rose to 2.341%.

 

AT HOME

 

Sensex and Nifty climbed 1% and 1.2% respectively to close at the highest level after 16th March. Sensex settled at 50030, up 520 points while Nifty added 176 points to finish at 14867. Nifty mid-cap and small-cap indices surged 1.8% and 2.1% respectively.  Except marginally lower FMCG and Consumer Durables indices, all the BSE sectoral indices ended in green, with Metal index leading the tally, up 5.4%, followed by 2.9% higher Basic Materials index.

 

FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 149 cr and 445 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 278 cr. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 297 cr.

 

For the week, Sensex and Nifty climbed 2.1% and 2.5% respectively, snapping 2-week losing streak.

 

India's March exports grew 58% y-o-y to a record $34 billion and imports rose 53% to $48.12 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $14.1 billion.

 

GST collections rose 27% to hit a record high of nearly Rs 1.24 kh cr in March.

 

The Maharashtra government announced new curbs in the state that includes a night curfew and a weekend lockdown as Covid-19 cases surged unabated. FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 149 cr and 445 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 278 cr. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 297 cr.

 

OUTLOOK

 

Markets in China and Hong Kong are shut today while Nikkei is up 0.8%. SGX Nifty is trading around 14915, suggesting around 40 points lower start when compared to Thursday's close of Nifty futures.

 

In Thursday's report we had said that 34-DMA, placed around 14900, continued to be upside hurdle to eye while 14600 was the immediate support on the hourly chart.

 

Nifty rose to touch a high of 14883 before closing at 14867 and is set to open near 14800 today.

 

34-DMA, placed around 14900, which roughly coincides with the 14883 top made last week, continues to be upside hurdle to eye, upon crossover of which, 15051, the top made on 16th March, would be the next upside target.

 

14650-14600 is the immediate support zone on the hourly chart. Meanwhile, trading longs can be held on to with the stop-loss of 14600.