NIFTY CONSOLIDATES AFTER 3-DAY SPRINT; 10100 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

NIFTY CONSOLIDATES AFTER 3-DAY SPRINT; 10100 CONTINUES TO BE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

WORLD MARKETS                             

Dow and S & P 500 gained 0.2% and 0.1% respectively while Nadaq ended flat with Dow breaking above 23000 for the first time on intraday basis.

UnitedHealth reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecas. Johnson & Johnson also reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Goldman Sachs' earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectation; the stock however fell 2.6%.  Netflix posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but stock fell 1.6%.

European markets, except a 0.4% higher Spain, fell upto 0.4%.

AT HOME

It was a day of consolidation as benchmark indices ended little changed after trading in a narrow range through the session. Sensex lost 24 points to settle at 32609 while Nifty finished at 10234, up 4 points. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices however outperformed, rising 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. BSE Telecom index soared 2.8%, becoming top gainer among the sectoral indices, followed by 0.7% higher Oil & Gas index.

FIIs net sold stocks and stock futures worth Rs 484 cr and 8 cr but net bought index futures worth Rs 258 cr. DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 809 cr.

Rupee depreciated 31 paise to end at 65.03/$.

Axis Bank reported a 35.5% rise in net profit backed by lower provisions towards the bad loans (dip by 13%), fee income growth (12% rise) and stable loan growth (16%). However, the gross NPAs, including the divergences, jumped 67% to Rs 27,402 crore from Rs 16,379 crore and net NPAs nearly doubled to Rs 14,052 crore from Rs 7761 crore a year ago. Non-watchlist slippages surged to Rs 6505 cr, up from 2722 cr q-o-q.

Wipro's consolidated net profit increased 5.5% sequentially to Rs 2,191.7 crore, driven by fall in total expenses, lower finance cost and higher other income. Consolidated evenue from operations fell 1.4% to Rs 13,468.7 cr. IT services business grew by 1.1%. IT services revenues in dollar terms grew by 2.1% to USD 2,013.5 million and constant currency growth was at 0.3%. For Q3FY18, Wipro expects revenues from IT services business to be in the range of USD 2,014-2,054 million, a growth of 0-2% over Q2. Revenues largely matched expectations but constant currency growth and Q3 guidance missed estimate.

Bajaj Auto reported better-than-expected numbers. Net profit fell 0.6% y-o-y dip to Rs 1194 cr, hit by slow sales growth, lower other income and higher raw material cost. Revenue rose 2% to Rs 6566 cr. Operating profit was up 0.2% at Rs 1297 cr but margin contracted by 170 bps to 19.7%.

OUTLOOK

Today morning, Asian markets are trading mixed with modest changes and SGX Nifty is suggesting about 30 points lower start for our market.

After rising more than 250 points in 3 sessions, Nifty consolidated yesterday by closing 4 points higher after trading in a narrow range and is set to open lower today.

10100 continues to be immediate support on the hourly chart with the stop-loss of which, existing longs should be held on to. 10310 is the immediate target above which 10600-10650 would be the next major target to eye.

Ultratech will report its quarterly earnings today.