What changed for the market while you were sleeping? Top 10 things to know

The BSE Sensex gained another 216 points on March 13 to close at 37,752.17, taking total gains to over 2,200 points in three consecutive weeks. Banking and financials drove the rally.

The Nifty 50 hit fresh six-month high and ended the session at 11,341.70, a gain of 40.50 points from previous settlement, but overall as it was a consolidation day, the index formed ‘Hanging Man’ kind of pattern on the daily charts.

India VIX increased by 1.18 percent to 15.27 levels. VIX closed higher after the declines of last seven-eight trading sessions but overall lower volatility is giving comfort to bulls

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 11,294.76, followed by 11,247.83. If the index starts moving upward, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,370.46 and 11,399.23.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 28,884.30, up 440.60 points on March 13. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 28,516.1, followed by 28,147.9. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 29,090.1, followed by 29,295.9.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

Wall Street rises; Boeing up despite US grounding of 737 MAX jets

US stocks rose on Wednesday, led by gains in healthcare shares, and Boeing edged upward even as the United States joined other nations in grounding the company’s 737 MAX jets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.23 points, or 0.58 percent, to 25,702.89, the S&P 500 gained 19.4 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,810.92 and the Nasdaq Composite added 52.37 points, or 0.69 percent, to 7,643.41.

Asia shares take a breather, pound near nine-month peak

Asian shares paused on Thursday as investors awaited data from China for clues about the health of the world’s second largest economy while the pound shot up to near nine-month highs as the risk of a no-deal Brexit receded following a late-night vote.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed at 522.38 points. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 0.6 percent while Australian and New Zealand shares each added 0.2 percent.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader index in India, a rise of 1.5 points or 0.01 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,385-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Oil edges higher, holds near 4-month top on supply cuts

Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday to sit just off a four-month high reached in the previous session as investors focused on global production cuts and supply disruptions in Venezuela.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $67.61 a barrel at 0054 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. Brent touched $67.76 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since November 16. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.29 per barrel, up 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last settlement.

Rupee rallies 17 paise against US dollar

The Indian rupee on Wednesday clocked its third straight session gains, rising 17 paise to close at a fresh two-month high of 69.54 against the US dollar on sustained foreign fund flows. Besides, the US dollar’s weakness against its key rival overseas strengthened forex market sentiment domestically.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the domestic unit opened at 69.71 and advanced to a high of 69.42 during the day. It finally settled at 69.54, a rise of 17 paise against the dollar.

RBI to inject liquidity worth $5 bn into system

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said it will inject long-term liquidity worth $5 billion into the system through foreign exchange swap arrangement with banks for three years. The swap will be in the nature of a simple buy/sell foreign exchange swap from the Reserve Bank side.

Under the swap, a bank would sell US dollars to the RBI and simultaneously agree to buy the same amount of US dollars at the end of the swap period.

“In order to meet the durable liquidity needs of the system, the Reserve Bank has decided to augment its liquidity management toolkit and inject rupee liquidity for longer duration through long-term foreign exchange Buy/Sell swap…,” the RBI said.

Sebi provides framework, timeline for counter offer process

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday came out with the framework and timeline for the counter offer process. The counter offer is made in case the price discovered through reverse book building (RBB) is not acceptable to the promoter or the acquirer.

The book value per share of the company shall be disclosed in the public announcement for counter offer, the regulator said in a circular. Additionally, the letter of offer shall contain details of the counter offer, activity schedule, among other details in a prescribed format.

RBI relaxes norms for trade credit

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday relaxed norms for imports of capital and non-capital goods by raising the trade credit limit to $150 million under the automatic route. Announcing the modified revised framework for ‘Trade Credit Policy’, the RBI, however, reduced the all-inclusive cost (all-in-cost) for overseas loans to benchmark rate plus 250 basis points from the earlier 350 bps.

Trade credits (TCs) refer to the credits extended by the overseas supplier, bank, financial institution and other permitted recognised lenders for maturity for imports of capital and non-capital goods permissible.

According to the revised framework, TCs up to $150 million or equivalent per import transaction for oil and gas refining & marketing, airline and shipping companies can be availed under the automatic route.

Rahul Bajaj resigns as Bajaj Finserv Chairman

Bajaj Finserv on Wednesday said its Chairman and Non-Executive Director Rahul Bajaj has resigned and will take over as the Chairman Emeritus from May. Bajaj, 80, vide a letter dated February 15, 2019, has tendered his resignation which will be effective from the conclusion of the board meeting scheduled for May 16, 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing.

His appointment as Chairman Emeritus will be effective from May 16, 2019, it added.

Five stocks under ban period on NSE

Securities in ban period for the next day’s trade under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

For March 14, BEML, IDBI Bank, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Jet Airways are present in this list.