BUDGET SESSION BEGINS TODAY; 8800 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

BUDGET SESSION BEGINS TODAY; 8800 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices gained between 0.6%-0.9% on Friday with the Dow and S & P 500 closing at record high after Greece and euro zone finance ministers reached deal to extend the Greek bailout by four months.

Greece faced the risk of default and exit from the euro zone if the country did not obtain enough funding or an extension beyond the Feb. 28 deadline.

US flash manufacturing PMI for February came in at 54.3, up from 53.9 in January and the highest reading since November but weaker than the 55.9 average for all of 2014. The data also showed production levels rose at their fastest pace in four months.

Nymex oil fell 82 cents to $50.34 a barrel. Brent eased 42 cents to $59.80.

European markets ended mixed with FTSE and DAX gaining about four tenth of a percent and CAC ending a tad lower. German producer prices showed a further fall in January, leading to increased fears that the region is falling into a deflationary spiral. On the positive side, Eurozone flash composite PMI for February came in at seven month high of 53.5.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended lower by about eight tenth of a percent after a choppy trading session, braking the seven-day winning streak. Sensex lost 231 points to settle at 29231 while Nifty finished at 8828, down 67 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices however gained 0.03% and 0.4% respectively. BSE Oil & Gas and IT indices lost 1.8% and 1.2% respectively, becoming top losers among the sectoral indices while Realty and FMCG indices gained 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks, index futures and stock futures worth Rs 89 cr, 642 cr and 325 cr respectively. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 205 cr.

Rupee appreciated 12 paise to end at 62.22/$.

DLF and JSPL Idea Cellular and Yes Bank will replace DLF and JSPL in Nifty from 27th March.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, barring a half a percent lower Hang Seng, other Asian markets are trading higher and SGX Nifty is suggesting a marginally higher start for our market.

Readers would recall that we have been advising holding on to trading longs with a trailing stop loss ever since 8700 hurdle was taken out on 12th February. We have been working with a possibility of retest of the 8997 top made on 30th January.

On Friday, Nifty lost 67 points to settle at 8828, breaking the seven-day winning streak. Immediate support on the hourly chart continues to be around 8000, a sustained trading below which would generate a sell on the hourly chart and can drag Nifty to around 8650, where the 34-DMA is placed.

Traders are advised to hold trading longs with the stop loss of 8800.

Budget Session of the Parliament begins today. Economic Survey will be presented on Thursday, followed by the Railway Budget on Friday and the Union Budget on Saturday. Stock market will remain open on Saturday.