9800 ABOVE 9710; 9590 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

9800 ABOVE 9710; 9590 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

WORLD MARKETS                             

US indices gained 0.2%-0.4% ahead of Comey testimony, UK election and ECB policy decision, all slated for Thursday.

WTI oil plunged 5.1% to $45.72 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration reported a surprise build in crude inventories.

In Europe, FTSE tumbled 0.6% while CAC and DAX were down 0.1% each. German factory orders fell by 2.1% in April.

AT HOME

Benchmark indices ended higher by a fourth of a percent after a choppy session. Sensex added 81 points to settle at 31271 while Nifty finished at 9664, up 27 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed, rising 0.5% and 0.8% respectively. Except a 2% and 1.5% cut in IT and Teck indices respectively, all the BSE sectoral indices ended in green with Healthcare and Metal indices leading the tally, up 1.1% and 1% respectively.

FIIs net bought stocks worth Rs 74 cr but net sold index futures and stock futures worth Rs 106 cr and 19 cr respectively. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 166 cr.

Rupee appreciated 9 paise to end at 64.33/$.

RBI left repo rate unchanged at 6.25% but cut the SLR by 50 bps to 20%. It also maintained a neutral stance on monetary policy and said that premature action could lead to “disruptive policy reversals later” and damage the credibility of monetary policy. Significantly, however, the RBI cut its projection for consumer inflation to 2-3.5% in April to September, down from 4.5% earlier, and to 3.5-4.5% in October to March, down from 5%. The apex bank also cut is FY18 GVA forecast to 7.3% from 7.4%.

OUTLOOK

The second estimate of first quarter GDP showed that the Japanese economy grew 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, lower than the 0.5% expected. Y-o-Y growth stood at 1% compared to the 2.2% forecast.

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

After achieving 9700-9725 target, Nifty is in a consolidation mode. Once 9709, the top made on Tuesday, is taken out, 9800 would be the next upside target to eye.

9590, the bottom made last week, continues to be immediate support, with the stop-loss of which existing longs can be held on to.

General election in the United Kingdom will be held today wher Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party is expected to win. However, recent opinion polls show the Conservative's lead narrowing.

Former FBI Director James Comey is due to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee over whether U.S. President Donald Trump requested him to "drop" a probe into Michael Flynn, the ex-national security advisor. Comey's opening remarks have been released by the committee.

The European Central Bank is set to release its latest monetary policy decision today. While interest rates are expected to remain unchanged, the central bank may cut its inflation forecasts.