Markets to extend the bull-run with a positive start

The Indian markets surged to their fresh record highs on uninterrupted fund inflow and easing international crude prices in the last session. Today, the start is likely to be in green and the major indices are likely to extend their bull run, scaling fresh record highs. Traders will be getting some support with leading international risk-rating firm Maplecroft saying that India is now the world's best growth-market bet as the risks of doing business in the country have declined with the Narendra Modi government having completed its first quarter. There will be buzz in the oil and gas stocks as the four-member panel of secretaries will submit its report on the new gas pricing mechanism by Wednesday. Meanwhile, the power and mining stocks too are likely to remain in action, as the government awaits Supreme Court's decision on the mines allotted since 1993 with Ministry of Power and Coal is firming up plans to commence the auction process by the end of current financial year. There will be some buzz in the realty sector stocks as well, as the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is working on the proposal to liberalise foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the construction sector.

The US markets made a mixed closing on Monday after a choppy trade. The stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading session with traders eyeing report on retail sales later in the week. The Asian markets too are trading mixed, though the Japanese market was trading higher after the yen dropped to a six-year low against the dollar.

Back home, coming out from their consolidation mood, boisterous benchmarks showcased an enthusiastic performance on Monday, by rallying over one percentage point. Sentiments remained up-beat since start as key bourses opened with decent gains and there appeared not even an iota of profit booking in the session as the benchmarks managed to fervently gain from strength to strength as investors continued hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Frontline indices not only ended the session near intraday high levels but also recaptured their crucial 8,150 (Nifty) and 27,300 (Sensex) bastions as investors took to hefty across the board buying. Sentiments remained jubilant on report that provisional data from the exchanges showed that foreign funds were net buyers the previous trading session. Some support came after the Union Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has played down the coal shortages situation and said that the government in 100 days had got the system to produce nearly 22 per cent more electricity and is on track to provide 24x7 power to all in five years. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India’s governor Raghuram Rajan said that aggressive monetary policy by developed economies may hurt global growth by pushing emerging markets to pile up foreign-exchange reserves instead of spending. Supportive cues from US markets provided the much needed support to local markets initially, however, European markets made a disappointing start. Back home, there was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too participated strongly in the rally. Meanwhile, appreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too aided the sentiments. The rupee strengthened to a more than five-week high on Monday, tracking broad overnight losses in the dollar versus major currencies following the weaker-than-anticipated US jobs data. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 293.15 points or 1.08%, to 27319.85, while the CNX Nifty soared by 87.05 points or 1.08% to 8,173.90.