Markets may open flat following negative cues from Asian peers
A sharp surge in crude oil prices took its toll on the Indian markets. This was after Donald Trump administration conformed that the 6-month relief granted for purchase of Iranian oil will not be extended beyond May 2. The Indian markets are likely to open the session on the flat note on Tuesday. For the Nifty, the 11,549 level is an important support. The Indian VIX or fear gauge touching a 3-year high of 24.56 on Monday and the upcoming derivatives expiry are likely to keep the volatility elevated in the coming trading sessions. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was trading with modest gains of 3 points at 11,620 levels. The key results scheduled today are ACC, Coromandel, Indiabulls Real Estate and Tata Global Beverages. Also, 13 states and two Union territories will vote in phase-3 of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections today.
A majority of the stock indices in Asia are trading in the red following lacklustre cues from Wall Street overnight. The Japanese stock market Nikkei was down by 0.25 per cent and Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng has lost 0.67 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index is almost unchanged.
Back home, it was a sea of red on Dalal Street on Monday as bears took control and extended the southward journey for the second day in a row. The BSE Sensex and Nifty breached their crucial psychological marks of 38,700 and 11,600, respectively. A sudden spike in crude oil prices sent chills down the spine of the market participants, and as a result, after a gap-down opening, selling pressure intensified and the benchmark indices closed near the day’s low. The sell-off was more dreadful in the broader markets, with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap plunging 1.75 per cent and 1.76 per cent, respectively. All the sectoral indices closed lower, except Nifty IT. Among the sectoral indices, the top losers were Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank.
The US stock indices returned to action following long holiday weekend but started off the week in an unexciting fashion. On the earnings front, Kimberly-Clark reported better than expected profits. On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing that the existing homes sales in the month of March were down 4.9 per cent MoM. In the end, the Dow Industrial Average dipped 0.18 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.22 per cent and the S&P 500 index added 0.10 per cent.
The European markets remained closed for Easter Monday.