Stock Market LIVE: Asia a sea of red as Iran-Israel war spooks investors; Brent holds $90/bbl

Stock market LIVE updates on April 15: Escalation in the Iran-Israel war over the weekend is expected to cloud the sentiment on Monday, and may drive investors towards safe haven like Gold.

 

Besides, the war’s impact on oil prices would be a key factor to watch out for an energy-sensitive country like India.

 

At 7:15 AM, Gift Nifty was down nearly 150 points at 22,453 levels.

 

Elsewhere in Asia, Nikkei, and Kospi declined 1.3 per cent each, while ASX200 fell 0.7 per cent.

 

Corporate Earnings

Back home, focus would also be on March quarter (Q4FY24) results of GTPL Hathway, Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom, Metalyst Forgings, Ontic Finserve, Rajoo Engineers, Hit Kit Global Solutions, Shekhawati Poly-Yarn, Atam Valves, and Sybly Industries.

 

Market participants will also react to the Q4 numbers of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which came after market hours last Friday.

>> Solar energy sold up 7% YoY at 3,066 million units

>> Solar grid availability at 99.7% vs 99.6% YoY

>> Wind energy sales up 43% YoY at 614 million units

>> Wind plant availability at 96.6% vs 94.7% YoY

>> Wind grid availability at 98.6% vs 99.7% YoY

The headcount reduction that started at the beginning of FY24 continued in the January–March quarter, which saw a 2.2 per cent drop year-on-year (Y-o-Y). While the company had over 614,000 employees at the start of the financial year, it is down to a shade over 600,000 at the end of the year. Further gains on the employee front could be hard to come by. READ MORE

Results today: Nine companies scheduled to report earnings today, including GTPL Hathway, Bhawani Cable and Rajoo Engineers.

 

Traders should be cautious as the index may encounter selling pressure on any upward movements in the near term. Regarding resistance levels, significant barriers are anticipated at 22,595, 22,675, and 22,800. These levels are crucial for traders to observe as selling opportunities, especially considering the supportive signals from technical indicators like the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI). Both indicators indicate bearish tendencies, reinforcing the potential for underperformance in the near term. READ MORE

>> Iran’s currency, the rial, briefly plunged to a record low against the dollar on the unofficial market, after Tehran launched an expansive missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday night, exacerbating tensions in the Middle East.

>> The exchange rate was at 705,000 rials / USD on the open market on Sunday, according to data from foreign exchange monitoring site Bonbast. The Iranian currency has since pared some losses.

>> Oil prices could soar to $100 per barrel and beyond, said market watchers, after Iran mounted an aerial attack against Israel reigniting fears of a regional war.

>> Japan’s key gauge of capital spending jumped the most in a year in February, rebounding sharply from the prior month’s decline 

>> Core machinery orders rose 7.7% in February from the previous month, blowing past a 0.8% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll

>> It was the fastest growth in core orders since January 2023 and more than recouped a 1.7% fall in the previous month.

Source: Reuters

>> China’s central bank on Monday left a key policy interest rate unchanged as widely expected when rolling over maturing medium-term loans, and drained some cash from the banking system through the bond instrument.

>> Keeping the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate steady underscores the central bank’s intention to maintain currency stability amid a shaky economic recovery and push back on market expectations around the timing of a first US Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year

Source: Reuters

>> US crude oil futures were slightly lower Sunday as traders breathed a sigh of relief after Israel fended off a large-scale air assault by Iran and the US emphasised it wants to avoid a wider war in the Middle East.