Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 22 points gain

The BSE Sensex fell 290.69 points to close at 49,902.64 on May 19 while the Nifty50 declined 77.90 points to 15,030.20.

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 14,981.53, followed by 14,932.87. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 15,106.13 and 15,182.07.

US Markets

Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Wednesday after minutes from an April Federal Reserve meeting showed participants agreed the U.S. economy remained far from the central bank's goals, with some considering discussions on tapering its bond buying program.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 164.62 points, or 0.48%, to 33,896.04, the S&P 500 lost 12.15 points, or 0.29%, to 4,115.68 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.90 points, or 0.03%, to 13,299.74.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were mixed in Thursday morning with data showing Japan's exports surging in April. In morning trade, the Nikkei 225 was largely flat while the Topix index edged about 0.1% higher.

China's ban, inflation concerns trip cypto market; dogecoin, bitcoin drop over 10%

The cryptocurrency market is reeling under pressure on May 19 amid uncertainties over inflation and China's crackdown on crypto trading. The widespread sell-off in the crypto market wiped out over $265 billion dollars in market capitalisation. At the time of writing this article, the value of the whole cryptocurrency market stood at around $1.86 trillion, down 12.47 percent from the previous day.

Centre hikes fertilizer subsidy for FY22 by Rs 14,775 crore

The union government has decided to increase the fertilizer subsidy outlay for the year by 14,775 crore, after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prices of fertilizers, an official statement said on May 19.

This will take the fertilizer subsidy outlay for 2021-22 to Rs 94,305 crore from a budgeted outlay of Rs 79,530 crore.

"It was discussed that the price of fertilisers is undergoing an increase due to the rising prices of phosphoric acid, ammonia etc internationally. PM stressed that farmers should get fertilisers at old rates despite the international rise in prices," the statement said.

Sebi imposes Rs 5.25 crore fine on Cairn India in share buyback case

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday imposed a penalty of Rs 5.25 crore on Cairn India for making a misleading announcement regarding the buyback of shares in 2014. In addition, the regulator levied a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on P Elango, who was the CEO and director of Cairn, Aman Mehta, who was the director on the company's board, and Neerja Sharma, who was director (risk assurance) and company secretary, Sebi said in an order.

It was noted that Cairn was not able to utilise the minimum amount of 50 per cent of the buyback size as required under the Sebi Buyback Regulations. Therefore, it had sought an extension of the buyback period, which was not acceded by Sebi. Subsequently, in July 2014, Cairn had submitted that it could not achieve the minimum amount of 50 per cent of buyback size as required under the rules.

Shaktikanta Das asks PSBs to quickly implement measures announced by RBI

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday asked state-owned banks to quickly implement measures announced by the central bank recently in the "right earnest", and to continue focussing on steps to enhance the resilience of their balance sheets. Das during a meeting with the MDs and CEOs of public sector banks acknowledged the important role being played by PSBs in extending various banking facilities including credit facilities to individuals and businesses while tackling the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Sebi receives confronting views from institutional investors, corporates on proposals about independent directors

Mutual funds and corporate houses are having opposing views on the discussion paper on reviewing the provisions for the appointment of independent directors. The paper was issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 1 for public comments . It suggests more strength to minority shareholders and increased responsibility for independent directors.

Institutional investors like MFs favour a strong regime for independence directors in listed entities. However, corporates say that companies are already finding it difficult to get independent directors on board, and, if they are mandated with greater responsibility, it will be hard to maintain the statutory number of independent directors on board.

Japan's exports jump most in decade as trade-led recovery perks up

Japan's exports grew the most since 2010 in April, supported by a favourable comparison with the sharp plunge seen during the pandemic last year, while capital spending also rose, firming up expectations of a trade-led recovery.

Data out on Thursday showed exports rose 38.0% in April from a year earlier, compared with a 30.9% increase expected by economists and following a 16.1% rise in March, the fastest gain since April 2010.