NIFTY CONSOLIDATED AFTER ACHIEVING 9350 TARGET; TRAIL STOP-LOSS TO 9250

NIFTY CONSOLIDATED AFTER ACHIEVING 9350 TARGET; TRAIL STOP-LOSS TO 9250

WORLD MARKETS                             

Dow and S & P 500 ended marginally higher while Nasdaq gained 0.4% to close at record high.

Energy stocks were under pressure as US crude fell 1.3% to $48.97, it's lowest since March 29, on oversupply concerns.

Durable goods orders rose a less-than-expected 0.7% in March. Weekly jobless claims increased more than expected to 257,000. Pending home sales fell 0.8% in March.

The ECB left its monetary policy unchanged even as ECB President Draghi acknowledged the economy recovery taking place in the Euro zone. However he also said that net asset purchases at a new monthly pace of 60 billion euros (nearly $65.6 billion) would "run until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary."

Following the decision, euro/dollar declined for a second consecutive session, trading at $1.0862.

European markets fell 0.2%-1.2%. Basic resources were the worst performers as commodity prices edged lower and Chinese iron ore futures slipped for a third session out of four.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended with modest cut after a choppy trade on the expiry day of the Aril derivative series to break the three-day winning streak. Sensex lost 104 points to settle at 30030 while Nifty finished at 9342, down 10 points. BSE mid-cap index gained 0.1% while small-cap index was down 0.02%. BSE Metal index fell 1%, becoming top loser among sectoral indices, followed by 0.7% cut in FMCG and Healthcare indices. Realty and IT indices were the top gainers, up 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks and stock futures worth Rs 182 cr and 794 cr respectively but net bought index futures worth Rs 587 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 233 cr.

Rupee depreciated 4 paise to end at 64.15/$.

For the April derivative series, Sensex and Nifty gained 1.3% and 1.8% respectively.

Maruti reported better-than-expected topline while bottomline and operational performance matched estimates. Net profit grew 15.8% y-o-y to Rs 1709 cr. Revenue rose 20.4% to Rs 20751 cr. Operating profit rose 9.9% to Rs 2561 cr and margin contracted by 140 bps to 14.2%.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported better-than-expected earnings but asset quality weakened. Kotak Mahindra Bank reported 40.3% y-o-y increase in net profit at Rs 976.5 cr. NII rose 16.4% to Rs 2161 cr. Net interest margin expanded to 4.6% from 4.49% q-o-q. Gross NPA ratio rose 17 bps q-o-q to 2.59% and net NPA ratio rose 19 bps to 1.26%.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Asian markets are trading with modest cuts and SGX Nifty is suggesting a marginally higher start for our market.

Nifty, after achieving the 9350 target on Wednesday, saw a volatile consolidation on the expiry day of the April derivative series yesterday.

9470 is the next upside target to eye. Immediate support on the hourly chart has moved up to 9250, with the stop-loss of which existing longs can be held on to.

Ambuja Cement will report its quarterly earnings today.