NIFTY CROSSES 8440 HUMP; STAY LONG WITH THE STOP-LOSS OF 8410

NIFTY CROSSES 8440 HUMP; STAY LONG WITH THE STOP-LOSS OF 8410

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices gained 0.6%-0.9%, with the S & P 500 hitting a record high, on the back of more executive orders from President Donald Trump. Materials lead the upmove.

President Trump signed executive orders to make it easier for TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline and for Energy Transfer Partners to build the final potion of the Dakota Access pipeline. The two pipelines have been fiercely disputed and had been delayed under the former President.

IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI for January rose to 55.1, from 54.3 in December, lifted by a surge in new orders. Existing home sales fell 2.8% in December.

Dollar index gained a third of a percent to 100.30.

Brent oil rose 0.4% to $55.44 a barrel, while US crude added 0.8% to settle at $53.18 on evidence of lower production by OPEC and other exporters. Post settlement however, crude oil prices slipped as U.S. weekly inventory data showed U.S. crude, gasoline and diesel stocks all increased last week.

European markets, except a flat FTSE, gained 0.2%-0.9%. The euro zone purchasing managers index eased slightly to 54.3 in January from 54.4 in December.

AT HOME

After a marginally higher start, benchmark saw a sustained northward move through the session to end with big gains of a percent and closed at the highest level since 10th November, marking a two and a half month high. Sensex soared 258 points to settle at 27376 while Nifty finished at 8476, up 84 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 1% and 0.8% respectively. Except a 0.2% and 0.1% lower IT and Teck indices respectively, all the BSE sectoral indices ended in green with Auto and Metal indices leading the tally, up 1.7% each.

FIIs net bought stocks and index futures worth Rs 94 cr and 371 cr respectively but net sold stock futures worth Rs 46 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 534 cr.

Rupee appreciated 5 paise to end at 68.15/$.

HCL Tech reported dollar revenue growth of 1.3% for the October-December quarter at USD 1745 mn. Growth in constant currency was 3%. Rupee revenue increased 2.6% to Rs 11814 cr and net profit grew by 2.3% to Rs 2062 cr. EBIT margin expanded by 28 bps to 20.38%. The company retained FY17 constant currency dollar revenue growth guidance at 12-14%.

HDFC Bank reported 15% growth in net profit at Rs 3865 cr. NII increased 17.5% to Rs 8309 cr, with loan growth of 13.5%. Net interest margin fell 10 bps q-o-q to 4.1%. Asset quality was stable with Gross NPA ratio rising to 1.05% from 1.02% sequentially while net NPA ratio at 0.32% vs 0.3%.

Bharti Airtel reported a massive 65% q-o-q fall in third quarter profit at Rs 504 cr. Revenue fell 5.3% to Rs 23336 cr. Operating profit fell 9.5% to Rs 8570 cr and margin declined 170 bps to 36.7% q-o-q.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, except a 0.3% lower Shanghai, other Asian markets are trading with gains of 0.3%-1.3% with Nikkei on the top. SGX Nifty is suggesting about 30 points higher start for our market.

Nifty yesterday soared 84 points to settle at 8476, crossing the 8440 hurdle decisively. Next target, as we have been mentioning, is 8560, which is the 61.8% retracement level of the entire 8970-7894 fall.

Meanwhile, immediate support on the hourly chart is placed at 8410, with the stop-loss of which trading longs can be held on to.

Maruti, Kotak Bank, Ashok Leyland and Wipro will report their quarterly earnings today.