Investors were cautious ahead of critical macroeconomic data announcements — industrial output for February and inflation rate for March — after trading hours, as Indian equity benchmarks fell for the second day in a row and closed over half a per cent down on Tuesday.
The Nifty50 has formed a reasonable negative candle on the daily chart with a minor lower shadow, with the next support at around 17,500-17,450 levels after breaching 17,600, according to Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.
“There is no indication of any convincing bottom reversal at the lows and one may expect further weakness in the short term,” he warned.
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Sensex fell 388.20 points or 0.66% to 58,576.37 and Nifty was down by 144.65 points or 0.82% to 17,530.30 in the previous session. Sensex touched a high and low of 58,794.78 and 58,298.57, respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. Nifty traded in a range of 17,595.30 and 17,442.35. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.
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Broader Indices
The broader indices ended in red with the BSE Midcap index falling 1.45%, while the Small cap index was down by 1.47%. The top gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.50%, while Metal down by 3.50%, Energy down by 2.78%, Realty down by 2.66%, Oil & Gas down by 2.47%, Basic Materials down by 2.16% were the losing indices on BSE.
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India VIX Index
Nifty or India VIX, a gauge of the market’s expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.62% to 18.16 on Tuesday.
SGX Nifty
The trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 68-points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 17,569.00 on the Singaporean Exchange around 06:45 hours IST.
Support and Resistance levels
The key support level for the Nifty is placed at 17,450, followed by 17,370. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,603 and 17,676, according to pivot charts.
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The S&P 500 fell 15.08 points, or 0.3%, to 4,397.45.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 87.72 points, or 0.3%, to 34,220.36.
The Nasdaq fell 40.38 points, or 0.3%, to 13,371.57.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.61 points, or 0.3%, to 1,986.94.
Asian Markets
Asian markets finished mixed on Tuesday. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.46% and the Hang Seng rose 0.42%. The Nikkei 225 lost 1.81%.
European Markets
European markets finished lower yesterday with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 was down 0.49% while Germany’s DAX was off 0.48% and France’s CAC 40 was lower by 0.34%.
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Major News Headlines
OPEC trims 2022 global oil demand forecast due to Russia-Ukraine war
OPEC on Tuesday cut its forecast for growth in world oil demand in 2022 citing the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation as crude prices soar and the resurgence of the Omicron coronavirus variant in China. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said world demand would rise by 3.67 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2022, down 480,000 bpd from its previous forecast. The invasion in February sent oil prices soaring above $139 a barrel, the highest since 2008, worsening inflationary pressures. Crude has since fallen as the United States and other nations announced plans to tap strategic oil stocks to boost supply but remains over $100.
CPI Inflation soars sharply to 17-month high of 6.95% in March
India’s retail inflation rate shot up to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March from 6.07% a month ago, thus remaining well above the consensus estimate for the third consecutive month. Fuel prices, which were hiked towards the end of March, are not fully recorded in the current data suggesting that inflation may remain elevated. The surging retail inflation was led by edible oils (18.79%), vegetables (11.64%), meat and fish (9.63%), footwear and clothing (9.4%) and fuel and light (7.52%), according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Inflation in food and beverages increased to 7.46% in March 2022 against 5.93% in February.
Industrial output rises by 1.7% in February from 1.5% in January
India’s industrial growth, as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded by 1.7% in February from 1.5% in January, showed data released on April 12 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The IIP had contracted by 3.2% in February 2021. Industrial output was expected to increase in February, as data released in late March showed that the output of India’s eight core sectors increased by 5.8% year-on-year in February, up from 4% in the previous month. Since the eight core industries make up 40.3% of total IIP, industrial growth tends to rise when these sectors will start performing well. According to the government data, the growth in the mining sector was 4.5% as compared to a contraction of 4.4% in February 2021.
DIPAM may meet investment bankers today on LIC IPO
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is likely to meet investment bankers for the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Initial Public Offering (IPO) today. The department conducted market assessments and found that the current situation is favourable for the listing of India’s largest insurance company. The government could file an updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) for the LIC IPO with the market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), reported CNBC TV18. The government is considering launching the LIC IPO by May, as suggested by government officials to the group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Further, the committee is expected to make a decision soon in this regard and give approval to officials for the public offering of shares of the state-owned insurance giant. According to the current DRHP, the government will dilute a 5% stake in LIC.
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SOCIETE GENERALE bought 768,398 shares in VERANDA at Rs 162.50 per share on the BSE.
ANAND RATHI GLOBAL FINANCE LTD sold 3,65,300 shares in Premier Limited at Rs 5.12 per share on the NSE.
RIKHAV SECURITIES LIMITED sold 45,600 shares in Bombay Metrics S C Ltd at Rs 396.44 per share on the NSE.
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ANKITA VISHAL SHAH sold 7,99,960 shares in GTL Limited at Rs 12.08 per share on the NSE.
KIRIT TULSIDAS VASSA sold 2,49,000 shares of Innovative Tyres & Tubes at Rs 5.06 per share on NSE.
GAURAV JAIN bought 60,000 shares in KRISHNADEF at Rs 95.60 per share on the NSE.
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PARMAR SAVITABEN DEVJIBHAI sold 5,00,500 shares in Maheshwari Logistics Limited at Rs 100.60 per share on the NSE.
EPOCH SYNTHETICS PVT LTD bought 1,49,600 shares of Nupur Recyclers Limited at Rs 239.46 per share on NSE.
PIYUSH SUNDA sold 44,000 shares in Rex Pipes And Cables Ltd at Rs 39.67 per share on the NSE.
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Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 3128.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 870.01 crore in the Indian equity market on April 12, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
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RBL Bank is under the F&O ban for April 13. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.
