Stock Market Today: Top 10 things to know before the market opens

Market Today

The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open on a positive note on April 24 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a higher start for the broader index with a gain of 78 points.

The Indian market squandered most of the day's gains in last-hour selling on April 23 and closed with modest gains to end higher for a third session in a row.

At close, the Sensex was up 89.83 points, or 0.12 percent, at 73,738.45, and the Nifty was up 31.60 points, or 0.14 percent, at 22,368.

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty 50 is expected to face resistance at the 22,426 level, followed by the 22,449 and 22,487 levels. On the lower side, the index may take immediate support at the 22,351 level, followed by 22,328 and 22,290.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.

GIFT Nifty

Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index in India, with a gain of 78 points or 0.35 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around the 22,454.50 level.

Trade setup for today: Top 15 things to know before the opening bell

US Markets

US stocks closed higher on Tuesday following positive earnings from top-tier companies and as investors were focused on quarterly results from Magnificent Seven and other megacap growth stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263.71 points, or 0.69 percent, to 38,503.69, the S&P 500 gained 59.95 points, or 1.20 percent, to 5,070.55 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 245.34 points, or 1.59 percent, to 15,696.64.

Asian Markets

Japan's Nikkei led gains in Asia as markets in the region rose across the board, following Wall Street's continued rally for a second straight day.

The Japanese benchmark jumped 2.02 percent, while the Kospi was up 1.7 percent.

India's inflation at risk from extreme weather, geopolitical issues: RBI bulletin

Extreme weather events along with prolonged geopolitical tensions could pose a risk to India's inflation trajectory, even as growth in the South Asian nation exhibits an uptrend, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its latest bulletin on Tuesday.

"The food price pressures have been interrupting the ongoing disinflation process even as shocks from adverse climate events and geopolitical tensions add uncertainties to the outlook," the RBI staff said in a 'State of the Economy' article.

India is likely to experience more heat-wave days than normal between April and June, the country's weather office said earlier this month.

Hindustan Unilever to report Q4 earnings today

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is expected to report subdued Q4 earnings, as rural demand remained muted, dragging volume growth during the quarter.

According to a Moneycontrol poll of nine brokerage estimates, the FMCG major is likely to report a revenue of Rs 14,913 crore, clocking an on-year fall of around one percent from Rs 15,053 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

As per the poll, the consumer staples giant will see a profit of Rs 2,435 crore, down by almost four percent from the year-ago quarter.

The EBITDA margin expected to decline owing to higher royalty pay-outs, rising ad spends and lower sales growth, as per experts.

LTIMindtree to announce Q4 earnings today

LTIMindtree Ltd is expected to have suffered a slight decline in revenue in the final quarter of FY24 due to extended furloughs and certain rampdowns. A compilation of estimates from 13 brokerages by Moneycontrol suggests a marginal decrease of 0.5 percent quarter on quarter, with revenue expected to reach Rs 8,971 crore in the January-March period.

The company's Q4 FY24 net profit is projected to decline by 2.2 percent quarter on quarter to Rs 1,143.1 crore.

Dollar

The dollar nursed its wounds on Wednesday following big tumbles against the euro and sterling, hurt by a combination of surprisingly robust European activity data and cooling US business growth.

Gold Prices

Gold prices steadied on Tuesday after hitting a more than two-week low on diminishing fears about an escalation of tensions in the Middle East, with investors awaiting key economic data for further clarity on the timeline on U.S. interest rate cuts.

Crude

Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday, adding to gains in the previous session, after industry data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude stocks last week, a positive sign for demand, and attention shifted away from hostilities in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures rose 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $88.51 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 10 cents, or 0.11 percent, to $83.45 a barrel.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 3,044.54 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,918.94 crore worth of stocks on April 23, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has retained Hindustan Copper, Vodafone Idea, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises to the F&O ban list for April 24. Biocon, Piramal Enterprises, and SAIL were removed from the said list.

With inputs from Reuters and other agencies