Indian benchmark indices are likely to open on a positive note, hinted SGX Nifty. On the Singapore Exchange, Nifty futures were in the green at 18,088 level. In the previous session, Sensex closed above 61,250 and the Nifty settled above 18,000. “Technically, post the 17,900 breakout the market is comfortably trading above 17,850, which is largely positive. The Nifty has also formed a bullish candle and a higher bottom formation on intraday charts which supports further uptrend from the current levels,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Kotak Securities.
Key things to know before share market opens
Wall Street OvernightUS stock indexes ended higher on Wednesday, with gains led by the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite as data showed that US retail sales jumped 3% in January, the biggest increase in almost two years. S&P 500 finished higher after wavering for most of the day, while the Dow trimmed all its losses in the final hour of trade, rallying more than 250 points from its intraday low to end in the green, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
Windfall TaxThe Central Government on Thursday cut the windfall tax or the special additional excise duty (SAED) on domestically produced crude oil and diesel exports. The windfall tax on crude petroleum produced by companies like the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been reduced to Rs 4,350 from Rs 5,050/tonne as per the previous revision. The additional duty on diesel has been brought down to Rs 3 from Rs 7.5/litre earlier and the levy on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel has been cut to Rs 1 from Rs 6/litre, according to the latest notification issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Technical View“A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart, which is back to back in the last couple of sessions. Nifty surpassed the crucial hurdle of the down sloping trend line (connected lower tops) around 17,950 levels and closed higher. This pattern indicates a sustainable upside breakout of the crucial overhead resistance. This is a positive indication. The upside breakout of important resistance of the down trend line and overall positive chart setup could result in further upside towards the next key resistance of 18,250 levels in the short term. Immediate support is placed at 17,850 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
Key Levels To Watch“Volume profile indicates Index has a strong support around 17,820-17,880 zone. Coming to the OI Data, on the call side, the highest OI observed at 18,200 followed by 18,300 strike prices while on the put side, the highest OI was at 17,900 strike price. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 41,200-41,300 while resistance is placed at 42,100-42,200 range. We advise traders to implement a buy on dips strategy,” said Om Mehra, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.
FII/DII DataForeign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 432.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased shares worth Rs 516.64 crore on 15 February, according to the provisional data available on NSE.
Stocks Under F&O Ban On NSEThe National Stock Exchange has BHEL, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Ambuja Cements and Indiabulls Housing Finance stocks on its F&O ban list for 16 February. According to the NSE, the stocks mentioned above are prohibited in the F&O sector because they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock.