Indian equity markets are likely to open gap-down on Wednesday as as early trends on the SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for Indian benchmark Indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50. “Today, markets will react to CPI inflation data which released in India and US post market hours yesterday. Also, the ECB’s policy outcome would have a bearing on the global market. The earning season has kicked in and we expect overall good performance from the companies. Given government reforms and strong economic recovery, the long term trend of the equity market remains positive though there might be hiccups in between,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

In the previous session, Sensex fell 388 points or 0.66% to close at 58,576 points, while the Nifty 50 index shed 144 points or 0.82% to end at 17,530. “Markets will first react to macroeconomic data i.e. IIP and CPI data in early trades. Besides, weekly derivatives expiry and IT major, Infosys earnings will keep volatility high. The benchmark is gradually drifting lower and a decline below 17,400 could push the Nifty to 17,250 levels. We reiterate our cautious approach and suggest focusing on sectors/themes which are showing resilience,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking.

Key things to know before today’s market opening bell

Global cues: Shares in Asia were mixed in Wednesday morning trade as investors watched for market reaction to the release of a slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report. In China, the Shanghai composite slipped 0.7% while the Shenzhen component traded 0.91% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.48%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.25%, while the Topix index advanced 0.68%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.78%. Meanwhile, shares on Wall Street slipped overnight following the US inflation report release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.26%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.34%. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.

Nifty technical view: “Nifty continued with follow-through weakness on Tuesday amidst volatility and closed the day lower by 144 points. A reasonable negative candle was formed on the daily chart with minor lower shadow. Technically, this pattern indicate continuation of weakness in the market. After sliding below the initial support of 17600 levels on Monday, Nifty is now placed at the next lower support of around 17500-17450 levels. Though, Nifty placed at the support, still there is no indication of any convincing bottom reversal pattern at the lows and one may expect further weakness in the short term,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

After showing resilience in the last few sessions, the overall market breadth has turned into negative on Tuesday and broad market indices have closed in the red. This is not a good sign and one may expect further weakness ahead. The short term trend of Nifty continues to be negative. Though Nifty is placed at the support of 17400 levels, there is a possibility of further weakness in the short term. The market could possibly find support around 17300 levels and is expected to bounce from the lows,” Shetti added.

Nifty levels to watch out for: “Tuesday’s session saw Nifty continuing the trend with downward bias as no conviction was seen on the upside. Index has been trading above all its major moving averages and importantly it took support from its 21 Day EMA. After today’s close, on the lower end, support is visible at 17,400 -17,450 whereas resistance is placed at 17,600-17,640. 17400 may continue to act as support below which the Nifty may witness a serious correction,” said Harsh Parekh, Technical Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.

Q4 Results today: Infosys, Den Networks, and Lesha Industries will release its quarterly earnings today (13 April).

Hariom Pipe listing: Iron and steel products manufacturer Hariom Pipe Industries shares will debut on bourses today. The Hyderabad-based company’s initial public offer, which was subscribed 7.93 times. The portion set aside for retail investors was subscribed 12.15 times, while non-institutional investors and qualified institutional buyers bid shares 8.87 times and 1.91 times their allotted quota.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE: RBL Bank is under the F&O ban for 13 April. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.