Market Today
The benchmark Sensex and Nifty are likely to open on a negative note on April 19 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a weak start for the broader market with a gain of 119.50 points.
In a highly volatile session, Indian equity indices failed to hold on to their opening gains and ended lower for the fourth straight day on April 18 with the Nifty below 22,000.
At close, the Sensex was down 454.69 points or 0.62 percent at 72,488.99, and the Nifty was down 152.05 points or 0.69 percent at 21,995.85.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty 50 may take immediate support at the 21,955 level followed by 21,869 and 21,730 levels. On the higher side, the index may face resistance at the 22,234 level followed by the 22,320 and 22,459 levels.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.
GIFT Nifty
Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a weak start for the broader index in India, with a loss of 119.50 points or 0.54 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around the 21,948 level.
Trade setup for today: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell
US Markets
US stocks vacillated on Thursday, swinging from red to green and back as investors contended with the push-pull of a strong economy and restrictive Federal Reserve policy.
Benchmark Treasury yields resumed their climb and gold added strength as ongoing turmoil in the Middle East bolstered the safe-haven play.
All three major US stock indices wavered throughout the session, with weakness in the chip sector weighing the Nasdaq down the most. The S&P 500 joined the Nasdaq in the red, while the blue-chip Dow eked out a nominal gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.07 points, or 0.06 percent, to 37,775.38, the S&P 500 lost 11.09 points, or 0.22 percent, to 5,011.12 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 81.87 points, or 0.52 percent, to 15,601.50.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were trading lower on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s losses overnight and giving up gains from the previous day.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 2.7 percent and Kospi fell 1.7 percent.
Bajaj Auto Q4 profit at Rs 2,011 crore, beats estimates; declares dividend
Bajaj Auto Ltd reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,011.43 crore for the fourth quarter of FY2023-24. The Pune-based company’s profit was up by 18 percent from Rs 1,704.74 crore reported during the same period last year.
It posted revenue of Rs 11,249.8 crore for the January-March quarter this year, up by 30 percent from Rs 8,660 crore during the same period last year.
The company’s total income for Q4 was Rs 11,914.94 crore, up 29.6 percent from Rs 9,192.73 crore during the same period last year.
Infosys Q4 net profit at Rs 7,969 crore, beats estimates; Rs 28 dividend declared
Infosys Ltd, India’s second-largest IT services company, reported a net profit of Rs 7,969 crore for the fiscal fourth quarter, beating Street estimates. The company reported revenue of Rs 37,923 crore in the three months ended March 31, according to an exchange filing on April 18.
Infosys also declared a final dividend of Rs 20 per equity share and a one-time dividend of Rs 8 per share.
Wipro to Announce Q4 Earnings Today
Wipro Ltd is likely to report subdued Q4 financial results, with a marginal fall in revenue and a small rise in net profit, as discretionary demand is yet to pick up.
Based on the average estimate from 13 brokerage firms compiled by Moneycontrol, Wipro’s January-March revenue is expected to fall 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 22,117 crore. Net profit is expected to increase by two percent sequentially to Rs 2,747 crore.
However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, both revenue and net profit are seen falling 4.8 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
NSE to launch Nifty Next 50 index derivatives this month, gets SEBI nod
NSE will launch derivatives on its popular Nifty Next 50 index, effective April 24, 2024. The exchange has received the approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the same.
“The NSE Exchange will offer a cycle of three serial monthly index futures and index options contracts. These cash-settled derivatives contracts will expire on the last Friday of the expiry month,” stated the exchange filing.
“The introduction of derivatives on the Nifty Next 50 index (NIFTYNXT50) will complement the existing index derivatives product suite well. The Nifty Next 50 index represents the space between the Nifty 50 index, comprising the top large and liquid stocks, and the Nifty Midcap Select index, comprising the top large and liquid mid-capitalized stocks,” said Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE.
Crude
Oil prices slipped in early trade on Friday as US jobs data pointed to higher interest rates for longer and easing tensions in the Middle East dampened supply concerns. The market largely shrugged off sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.
Brent futures fell 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $86.88 a barrel. U.S. crude fell 25 cents to $82.48 per barrel, also down 0.3 percent.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 4,260.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,285.52 crore worth of stocks on April 18, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Stock under F&O ban on NSE
The NSE has added Exide Industries to the F&O ban list for April 19, while retaining Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, GNFC, Hindustan Copper, Vodafone Idea, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium Company, Piramal Enterprises, SAIL, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises to the said list.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies
