On Thursday in Singapore the SGX Nifty closed at 7,925.50, up 16.00 points for a gain of 0.20 percent. The high for the day was 8,073.00 and the low for the day was 7,883.50. The high resistance level for Friday is 8,216.67 and the low resistance level is 7,648.17. Finishing with a small gain on Thursday, the SGX Nifty’s increase could imply market gains for Friday as most global markets traded broadly lower. In India nearly all market sectors fell as stock valuations lost ground mainly following the Bank of Japan’s unchanged level on interest rates. The April derivatives expiry was also a factor. The NSE Nifty closed at 7,847.25 for a loss of 132.65 points or -1.66 percent. The BSE Sensex closed at 25,603.10 for a loss of 461.02 points or -1.77 percent.
While inaction from the Bank of Japan weighed on market valuations for the day, the yen rose by nearly 3 percent. Maruti Suzuki India (MARUTI), HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) and Yes Bank (YESBANK) were the key market movers in the NSE Nifty on Thursday. Automaker Maruti fell as the yen greatly effects its global sales. HCL Technologies was also lower after a weak earnings report. Yes Bank was higher for Thursday after better than expected earnings.
Other Asian markets mostly followed the lower trend on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite was at 2,946.20, down -7.47 points. Japan’s Nikkei was down -624.44 points to 16,666.05. In Taiwan the Taiwan Index was down -89.18 points to 8,473.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained on Thursday up 26.43 points to 21,388.03. The Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged will likely be a factor for Asian markets in near-term trading as valuations trade more volatility to factor in the Bank of Japan’s slightly tighter monetary policy action.
In Europe market indexes were also lower. The FTSE 250 was down -17.26 points to 17,066.45 for a loss of -0.10 percent. Lack of stimulus from the Bank of Japan and protests over executive pay mostly caused the descent in European stocks for the day. France’s CAC 40 was also lower at 4,557.36 for a loss of -2.04 points or -0.04 percent. Germany’s DAX gained slightly, up 21.32 points or 0.21 percent to 10,321.15.
In the U.S., market indexes fell as unexpected inaction in monetary policy easing by the Bank of Japan factored into valuations and gross domestic product for the U.S. showed weak growth at 0.5 percent. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,830.76 for a loss of 210.79 points or -1.17 percent. The S&P 500 was also lower at 2,075.81 for a loss of 19.34 points or -0.92 percent. Technology stock valuations also continued to decrease and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 4,805.29 for a loss of -57.85 points or -1.19 percent.