NIFTY EXTENDS CONSOLIDATION; ICICI BANK EARNINGS, FED IN FOCUS

NIFTY EXTENDS CONSOLIDATION; ICICI BANK EARNINGS, FED IN FOCUS

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices gained 0.1%-0.2% with Nasdaq along with Apple hitting new high ahead of Apple earnings.

Fed kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting and is expected to stay put on interest rate front. However, markets will be looking for more clues about June hike and the Fed's plan to unwind its massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

WTI crude slipped 2.4% to $47.66 a barrel as higher output in the United States, Canada and Libya outweighed lower production by Russia and major OPEC exporters.

US auto sales hit 16.88 million for April, below an expected annual rate of 17.2 million.

European markets gained 0.6%-1%.  BP gained after its profits almost tripled in the first quarter when compared to the year previous.

Apple reported after the bell. While earnings beat expectations, revenue fell short of estimates as the company sold fewer iPhones than expected. It guided to third quarter revenues of around $44.5 billion, a bit below market consensus.

AT HOME

After gaining about half a percent in the initial trade, benchmark indices gave away most of the gains through the session to end just marginally higher. Sensex added 3 points to settle at 29921 while Nifty finished at 9314, up 10 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices added 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. BSE Realty and Consumer Durable indices climbed 2% and 1.2% respectively, becoming top gainers among the sectoral indices while Telecom and Healthcare indices were the top losers, down 1.2% and 0.8% respectively.

FIIs net sold stocks, index futures and stock futures worth Rs 612 cr, 714 cr and 176 cr respectively. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 541 cr.

Rupee appreciated 8 paise to end at 64.4475/$.

India's Nikkei manufacturing PMI remained unchanged month-on-month at 52.5 in April.

Ashok Leyland reported 30% y-o-y dip in April sales at 7083 units. M & M April sales fell 6% to 39357 units but tractor sales rose 22% to 26001 units. TVS Motors reported 8.4% growth in April sales at 2.46 lac units.

Fitch kept India's rating unchanged at BBB- with stable outlook.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Asian markets, except a mildly lower Shanghai, are trading with modest gains and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 15 points higher start for our market.

Nifty has been in a consolidation mode over past two days after achieving the 9350 target. 9250-9225 continues to be immediate support area, with the stop-loss of which, trading longs can be held on to. 9367, the top made last week, is the immediate hurdle, above which 9470 would be the next upside target to eye.

ICICI Bank will report its quarterly earnings today. Profit y-o-y is expected to rise 200% to Rs 2120 cr and NII is likely to increase 0.2% to Rs 5416 cr. Slippages are expected to remain high in 6500-7000 cr range. Management commentary on stressed loans will be closely watched.