Top things to look out for in the markets today

The Nifty is likely to remain in a sideways-to-weak band on Wednesday as the monthly expiry in the F&O segment caps major movements and a huge net sell figure by foreign investors in the cash market deters buyers. Overseas cues turn positive.

Traders are also unlikely to push Buy buttons as they await the judgement of the US Fed’s rating setting panel's 2-day meeting that ends today. Meanwhile, the SGX Nifty signals a 25-point gap down opening for the Nifty on Wednesday.

Global cues have turned for the better. Major Indices in the US gained between 1-1.1 percent as investors nibbled at stocks after a 5-session drop. Stocks in EU rose 0.8-1.0 percent as traders took benefit from a sharp downdraft in prices on Tuesday, following the carnage in Chinese equities.

Markets in Asia are trading with minor upticks on Wednesday. Cues from the commodity space are modestly positive. Gold Futures are at 5-1/2 year lows; Oil Futures dipped to fresh 6-month lows.Commodities continue to be in a slipstream ahead of the US Fed meet.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Index closed at 8,337 points, down 24 points on Tuesday. The Index ended below the crucial 200-day moving average, which means that the bears have a firmer grip on the market compared with bulls. The index has a strong support in the range of 8,315-8,245 levels while the resistance is seen at 8,500 point level.

Sentiment was badly hit in the cash market as well. Foreign Institutional Investors posted net sales of 1,376 crores worth in the cash market on Tuesday, their highest single day selling number in at least a month. This compared with net buys of 665 crore rupees by domestic investors. The derivatives space saw sales worth 120 crore rupees for Index Futures; Sales of 407 crore rupees for Stock Futures; Purchases of 659 crore rupees for Index options and net sells of 26 crore rupees for Stock Options.

Major Earnings today Vedanta and Yes Bank, JSW Steel and Dabur. Large scale delivery based selling was seen in ICICI Bank, HDFC and Tata Motors.

STOCKS TO WATCH

IDEA: Net GSM additions 16 lakhs in June compared with flat to weak numbers for rivals.

DALMIA BHARAT: Swings to first quarter profit from a loss in the same quarter a year ago.

PIDILITE: First quarter PAT surged 33 percent; margins expand

TATA COMMUNICATIONS: First quarter loss dips year-on-year.

SKIPPER: First quarter PAT rises 53 percent to 10 crore rupees.

GUJARAT ALKALI: Q1 PAT slips on rising power costs.

GLENMARK: Credit Suisse downgrades stock to Downgrade from Neutral ahead of earnings.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)