From global cues to factory activity data, 10 things to know before market opens today

Equity benchmark Sensex climbed over 460 points to reclaim the 61,000 mark while Nifty closed above the 18,000 level on Friday, propelled by robust buying in index majors Reliance Industries and ITC amid fresh foreign fund inflows.

Rallying for the fifth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 463.06 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 61,112.44. The NSE Nifty advanced 149.95 points or 0.84 per cent to finish at 18,065, with 40 of its scrips ending in the green.

Technically, Nifty is in strong bullish momentum, having witnessed a breakout of an inverse head & shoulders formation, Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart said.

“It closed above 18000 levels in the last trading session, where 18100–18200 is an immediate target zone. Above 18200 levels, 18350 will be the next target level. On the downside, 17860 and 17820 will act as immediate support levels,” the market analyst said.

The Indian stock markets were closed on Monday, May 1, 2023, on account of Labour Day.

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:

Wall Street:

US stocks ended little changed on Monday as investors took in the weekend auction of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) and braced for this week's expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 46.46 points, or 0.14%, to 34,051.7; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 1.61 points, or 0.04%, at 4,167.87; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 13.99 points, or 0.11%, to 12,212.60.

Asian Markets:

Most Asian stocks were mixed tracking the flat US markets during the early morning session on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei was flat with negative bias, China’s Shanghai up by 1.14 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surge most by 0.2 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.6 per cent today.

SGX Nifty:

Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — was down 30.5 points or 0.17 per cent at 18,242.5 at this hour on Tuesday, suggesting a weak start ahead in the Indian share market today. It opened at 18,264.5 and touched the day’s high at 18,277.5 levels.

Rupee falls 3 paise

The rupee pared all its initial gains to settle lower by 3 paise at 81.82 against the US currency on Friday amid a strong greenback overseas.

However, the strong sentiment in the domestic equities market and fresh foreign fund inflows restricted the depreciating bias in the rupee, forex traders said.

US dollar index rises

The dollar rose to an almost two-week high against a basket of currencies on Monday before the Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates by an additional 25 basis points and after data showed that U.S. manufacturing pulled off a three-year low in April.

The dollar index was last up 0.41% on the day at 102.13 after reaching 102.19, the highest since April 19. The euro fell 0.43% to $1.0970. The single currency is holding just below a one-year high of $1.1096 reached last Wednesday.

Crude oil prices slip

Oil prices fell in thin early Asian trade on Tuesday as the market digests weak economic data from China and expectations of another U.S. interest rate hike.

Brent crude fell by 2 cents to $79.29 a barrel by 0021 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2 cents to $75.64. Both benchmarks fell by more than $1 last session.

April factory activity hits 4-month high

India's factory activity expanded at its quickest pace in four months in April, driven by solid growth in new orders and output, a private survey showed on Monday, signaling resilient demand and an encouraging outlook.

The survey results suggest India will continue to be one of the fastest-growing major economies despite slowing global growth that has undermined momentum across several other countries.

Janet Yellen's warning on debt limit

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress that the agency may be unable to meet all of its debt obligations as soon as June 1 if the debt ceiling is not raised, putting new urgency on talks in Congress.

The date is sooner than an estimate Treasury made in January, suggesting that the U.S.'s fiscal situation is more precarious than earlier known. Here is how lawmakers, economists and others have reacted:

Q4 results update

Index heavyweights such as UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank and other broader markets companies like RBL Bank, Aarti Drugs, IDFC First Bank announced their March quarter earnings on Friday and during the weekend.

The earnings momentum is expected to continue on Tuesday as cement major Ambuja Cement and steel maker Tata Steel among other companies are scheduled to release their fourth-quarter earnings of the previous fiscal today.

FII & DII Data:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers for Rs 3,304.32 crore in the Indian markets while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 264.27 crore on Friday, provisional data showed on the NSE.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and other agencies)