Markets likely to get a soft to cautious start on the last trading day of week

The Indian markets overlooking the jitters of SC verdict in the 2G scam case moved higher in last session. The benchmark indices were able to garner gains of over another more than half a percent. Today, the start is likely to be cautious as there will be some disappointment related to the disinvestment delay, after a meeting of the empowered group of ministers deferred a decision on disinvestment strategy for ONGC & BHEL. Though there will be some jubilation in the banking stocks as it has been reported that the finance ministry will infuse Rs 18,000 crore in the current fiscal in 12 banks, and will be seeking supplementary grants from Parliament in the Budget session. Meanwhile, RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao has said that 'The Reserve Bank can't be an inflation targeter, or a core inflation targeter. That will not serve the best interest of the macroeconomic management of the country'.

Also there will lots of important result announcements to keep the markets buzzing. Container Corporation, Dr Reddys Lab, Hindustan Copper, Madras Cements, Pidilite Inds, Rolta India, Tata Teleservices, Trident Ltd etc are among the many to announce their numbers today.

The US markets made a mixed closing on Thursday, awaiting the Friday's employment report. Though the new claims for jobless benefits dropped more than expected in the latest week but the traders waited for the monthly nonfarm payrolls report. The Asian markets have made a mixed start and some indices are trading marginally in red on getting some weak earnings announcement in the region.

Back home, lively Indian markets, riding on the back of sanguine global cues once again settled on a positive note and registered a hat-trick of closes in the green terrain. The equity indices managed to elegantly overcome from the early set back which resulted after the Supreme Court, in a major development having implications for the India’s corporate sector, cancelled the 122 2G spectrum licences granted by former telecom minister A Raja on the ground that they were issued in a 'totally arbitrary and unconstitutional' manner. Post hitting session’s lows on the back of Supreme Court’s judgment, the benchmarks managed to recuperate swiftly and settled with gains of around three fourth of a percent. The frontline gauges tested the psychological 17,500 (Sensex) and 5,300 (Nifty) levels in the session but stern resistances around those levels pushed the indices lower by the end. The recovery was led by heavyweight banking stocks which rebounded after slipping earlier as investors worried over their exposure to telecom companies. Among the telecom companies, Unitech, DB Realty, Videocon, Tata Teleservices were badly hit on their licences being cancelled while Bharti Airtel and Idea rallied in the session as barring them almost all other telecom stocks were granted licences post 2008. Besides, heavyweight PSU stocks like ONGC and BHEL rallied in the session on the buzz that an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) is likely to consider 5% stake divestment in the companies via auction. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a gap up opening as sentiments got bolstered following the overnight rally on Wall Street on the back of a slew of encouraging economic reports while traders were also confident that Greece would soon reach an agreement with its creditors to avert a disorderly debt default. After trading on a firm note for about two hours, hefty bouts of selling pressure emerged abruptly in late morning trades which dragged the key gauges to the lowest point in the session. However, the kneejerk selling pressure was immediately countered on the back of hefty buying in banking, IT and metal stocks. Thereafter, the indices remained choppy and gyrated in a narrow range to eventually snap the third straight session on a positive note. On the BSE sectoral front, the TECk counter remained the leading gainer with over 2% gains. The Metal and Capital Goods pockets too went home with strong gains of about 1.5%.Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 131.27 points or 0.76% to settle at 17,431.85, while the S&P CNX Nifty up by 34.20 points or 0.65% to close at 5,269.90.

The US markets made a mix closing on Thursday, as a drop in jobless claims fueled optimism about the economy and investors looked to the next day’s employment report as the next indicator of the economic recovery. According to a data released by the US Labor Department New unemployment claims in the US fell for the week ending January 28, the Department of Labor reported initial claims for unemployment declined 12,000 to 367,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 379,000, slightly higher than the 377,000 initially reported. Also, US labor productivity increased 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to statistics released by the US Labor Department, reflecting a 3.6% increase in output, offset by a 2.9% increase in hours worked.

 In Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the US economy is improving, although the outlook remains uncertain. Testifying to the House Budget Committee, Bernanke urged lawmakers to enact a plan to cut the federal deficit, while cautioning Congress to not jeopardize the recovery by reducing spending or hiking taxes too rapidly.  However, the market moves were dampened by investor uncertainty about Greece, which has yet to finalize an agreement with its bond holders. The Greek government is looking to make a deal and ensure another European Union-led financial rescue by March 20, the date Athens is supposed to make a bond payment totaling 14.5 billion euros ($19.1 billion). Global investors also focused on the debt auctions in Europe while Spain raised more than expected in debt sales as the yields fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 11.05 points, or 0.09 percent, at 12,705.40. The S&P 500 was up by 1.45 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,325.54, while the Nasdaq closed up 11.41 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,859.68.

Crude oil prices plummeted around one and a quarter percent on Thursday to the lowest levels in around six weeks, as sentiments got undermined on concerns over fuel demand outlook looming amid rising US crude stockpiles. On the other hand the Brent crude extended its gaining streak for the third session to three week highs as refiners stocked up alternatives to Iranian oil ahead of tightening sanctions which include a European Union embargo on Tehran over its nuclear ambitions.

Benchmark crude for March delivery plunged $1.25 or 1.3% to $96.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, March delivery Brent crude gained $0.51 or 0.5% to $112.07 a barrel.