Markets closed on account of Maharashtra Day

Indian equity, forex, money and commodity markets are closed today on account of Maharashtra Day.

On Thursday, benchmark indices ended lower for the second consecutive day as investors remained cautious ahead of the expiry of April series of derivatives contracts. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 215 points lower at 27,011 levels, while the CNX Nifty ended 58 points weak at 8,182 levels.

“This week, Nifty shed more than 3% and broke major support level of 8,200. Hereafter, the range of 8,000-8,400 will remain crucial in the near-term, and the trend is expected to remain volatile as indicated by option open interest concentration. If Nifty slips below the 8,150, it could then slide further to 8,000 levels due to increased selling pressure. On the other hand, the index may face stiff resistance at 8300 levels,” point out analysts at SMC Global Securities.

After hovering around the 200-DMA for the past several sessions, the Nifty finally gave up the fight this week. The index broke below the crucial technical barrier impacted on concerns of deadlock in the Land Acquisition Bill, poor corporate earnings and higher oil prices.

“Going ahead, HUL and Punjab National Bank (PNB) are among the major companies announcing quarterly results. HUL is expected to register 8% y-o-y growth in revenues at Rs 7,487 crore during the quarter led by healthy around 9% y-o-y growth in its HPC (home and personal care) business. Operating margin is likely to expand by 120 bps to 16.7% aided by sharp decline in key input prices,” points out a report from IIFL.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares lost ground on Friday after weak corporate earnings dented Wall Street. Shares got little help from China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for April, which showed manufacturing sector barely grew last month, holding slightly above the level separating expansion from contraction.

Sentiment in Japan was impacted after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said no further easing of monetary policy is needed at this time. The Nikkei share average shed 0.4% to 19,437.45, briefly falling to as low as 19,434.44, its weakest level since April 6. The broader Topix index fell 0.8%, hit by declines in bank shares.

Japanese manufacturing activity also contracted in April for the first time in almost a year, data suggested, as domestic orders and output fell, adding to fears that the economy struggling to gain traction. The Markit/JMMA final Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 49.9 in April, compared with a preliminary reading of 49.7 and final 50.3 in March.