NIFTY MOVES CLOSER TO 9000 TARGET; STAY LONG WITH THE STOP LOSS OF 8760

NIFTY MOVES CLOSER TO 9000 TARGET; STAY LONG WITH THE STOP LOSS OF 8760

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices plunged 1.3%-1.9% yesterday on the back of weak durable goods order data and disappointing corporate earnings.

Caterpillar, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble tumbled 7%, 9% and 3.5% respectively, after reporting poorer-than-estimated earnings.

Orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell 3.4% last month as against expectation of a 0.5% rise, highlighting the impact of the slowing global economy on U.S. multinationals.

Consumer confidence came in at 102.9 in January, the best read since August of 2007, while new-home sales came in at 481,000 in December vs 450,000 estimate. Separately, home prices in 20 cities rose 4.3% in November, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values.

Nymex oil rose $1.08 to $46.23 a barrel while Brent climbed $1.44 or 3% to $49.60. Gold gained 1% to $1292 an ounce.

European markets fell between 0.6%-1.6%. A flash fourth-quarter figure for GDP in the U.K. showed a worse-than-expected figure of 0.5%. However a yearly figure showed that growth in 2014 was at the fastest pace for 7 years.

AT HOME

After trading in a narrow range for better part of the day, benchmark indices saw a sharp spike up in the last hour of trade to end higher by nearly a percent, extending the winning streak to eighth trading session and ending at record high. Sensex surged 292 points to settle at 29571 while Nifty finished at 8910, up 75 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.8% and 0.5% respectively. BSE Bankex and Capital Goods indices gained the most among the sectoral indices, rising 2.3% and 1.8% respectively. IT and Teck indices were the top losers, giving away 1.7% and 1.1% respectively.

FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 954 cr and 1731 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 757 cr. DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 783 cr.

Rupee appreciated 2 paise to end at 61.395.

Maruti reported lesser-than-estimated 18% y-o-y rise in December quarter net profit at Rs 802 cr. Revenue rose 15.4% to Rs 12576 cr, which was better than estimate. Operating margin expanded 30 bps to 12.7% as against expectation of 60 bps.

Idea Cellular reported slightly lower than estimated 1.5% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 756 cr for the quarter ended December 2014 on account of higher depreciation. Revenues rose higher-than-estimated 5.9% to Rs 7570 cr. ARPU stood at Rs 179 compared to Rs 176 q-o-q.

OUTLOOK

Today morning Asian markets are trading flat to modestly lower and SGX Nifty is suggesting a marginally lower start for our market.

Nifty climbed 75 points yesterday to end at 8910, moving closer to the 9000 target we have been working with ever since the benchmark broke out on daily chart on 15th January.

Immediate support on the hourly chart has moved up to 8760, with the stop loss of which trading longs should be held on to.

Ranbaxy will report its quarterly earnings today.

US Fed ends its two day policy meeting today. While there is no change expected in the policy stance, market players will watch for any change in wording, such as "considerable time," that could hint at the timing of a rate hike.