From global cues to HCL Tech Q4 results preview, 10 things to know before Dalal Street opens today

The Indian markets settled marginally lower in a dull trading session, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase. Most sectors traded in sync with the move wherein pressure in the IT majors was weighing on sentiment. The broader indices also took a breather and ended almost unchanged.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 159.21 points or 0.27 per cent at 59,567.80 as 21 of its components ended in the red. While the NSE Nifty dipped 41.40 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 17,618.75 with 31 of its shares closing with losses.

In Nifty stocks, Divis Lab, BPCL, and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers while HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, and Infosys were the prime laggards. Among sectors Nifty Metal, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Pharma ended in green while Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Media ended on the lower side.

“We are seeing a healthy consolidation in the index and expect the same to end soon, Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking said, however, added that “prevailing underperformance of select sectors like IT and energy might cap the momentum in the following sessions.”

“Meanwhile, participants should continue with a stock-specific approach and prefer sectors like banking, financials, auto, and FMCG for the long trades,” The analyst at Religare Borking advised.

Stay tuned to Zeebiz.com to find out what could impact your trade today. We have collated a list of the top 10 news points which could impact markets, companies, or the economy:

Global Markets:

US stock market news: The S&P 500 ended virtually unchanged on Wednesday while the Dow dipped as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate earnings, including upbeat reports from medical technology companies, countered by weakness in Netflix shares.

#GlobalMarkets से एक बार फिर सुस्त संकेत

Dow 80 अंक फिसला, Nasdaq 100 अंक सुधरकर सपाट

दोबारा Job Cuts की खबर से Meta 1% गिरा

Tesla 2%, Netflix 3% टूटें, IBM 2% उछला

फेड की Beige Book- आर्थिक गतिविधि में ज्यादा बदलाव नहीं

आज FED के 3 सदस्य भाषण देंगे@deepdbhandari pic.twitter.com/K63QBdDSBs

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) April 20, 2023

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 79.62 points, or 0.23%, to 33,897.01; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.35 points, or 0.01%, at 4,154.52; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 3.81 points, or 0.03%, at 12,157.23.

Asian Markets:

Asian markets continued to be mixed in the early morning session on Thursday. As Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were in the green, while China’s Shanghai and South Korea’s Kospi were in the red today.

Nikkei grew marginally by 0.1 per cent and Hang Seng was up nearly a quarter per cent, on the contrary, Shanghai was down by 0.1 per cent and Kospi shed almost 0.25 per cent.

SGX Nifty:

Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — was up 20 points or 0.11 per cent at 17,673.5 at this hour on Thursday, suggesting a weak start ahead in the Indian share market today. It opened at 17,693.5 and touched the day’s high at 17,707.5 levels.

Rupee hits over 2-week low

The Indian rupee closed at a more-than-two-week low against the dollar on Wednesday as the greenback staged a recovery on firmer US Treasury yields.

The rupee finished at 82.2250 to the US dollar, its lowest level since April 3. The currency's previous close was 82.04. Technically, 82.20 is a key level and the break indicates further losses for the rupee were possible, a forex dealer said.

US dollar index gains

The US dollar strengthened on Wednesday, lifted by rising Treasury yields, though the pound gained against the greenback after British inflation stayed above 10% in March and put more pressure on the Bank of England to keep raising rates.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of its peers, was up 0.206% as markets turned more skeptical that the Federal Reserve will cut rates later this year.

Crude oil falls by 2%

Crude Oil prices slid about 2% to a two-week low on Wednesday despite a sharp decline in U.S. crude inventories, as the dollar strengthened on fears that looming Federal Reserve interest rate hikes could curb energy demand in the world's top consumer.

Brent futures for June delivery fell $1.65, or 2.0%, to settle at $83.12 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for May delivery fell $1.70, or 2.1%, to settle at $79.16.

Gold slides as yields climb

Gold prices fell below the key $2,000 level on Wednesday as U.S. yields marched higher, with investors turning skeptical about potential U.S. rate cuts later this year.

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,994.02 per ounce by 1:40 p.m. ET (1740 GMT), having shed as much as 1.8% to a two-week low of $1,969.09 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled down 0.6% at $2,007.30.

MFs’ SIP collection rises 25% in FY23

Inflows in the mutual fund industry through systematic investment plans or SIPs reached Rs 1.56 lakh crore in 2022-23, up 25 per cent from the preceding fiscal, suggesting retail investors' trust in the route despite volatility in the markets.

In comparison, an inflow of Rs 1.24 lakh crore through the route was registered in 2021-22 and Rs 96,080 crore in 2020-2021, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.

HCL Tech Q4 results today

HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) is all set to report its financial results for the quarter ended March 2023 on Thursday, April 20. Noida-based HCL Tech is the country's third largest IT services firm by market value after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys.

According to Zee Business research, HCL Tech is likely to report a net profit of Rs 3,850 crore for the final three months of the financial year gone by compared with the quarter ended March 2022, translating to a sequential decline of six per cent.

FII & DII Data:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers for Rs 13.17 crore in the Indian markets while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 110.42 crore on Tuesday, provisional data showed on the NSE.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies)