Markets likely to start on a weak note amid subdued global cues

The Indian markets closed with moderate gains in last session as the main indices survived severe bouts of volatility in the second half. Positive global cues helped the markets move higher however, disappointing earnings announcement from heavyweights like ONGC and Bharti Airtel capped gains in the session. Today, the markets are likely to start on a weak note, in line with their Asian peers as there appears no significant upside triggers to take the local bourses higher. Amid subdued revenue mop-up and rising fiscal deficit, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has voiced concerns over mounting subsidy bill, which may cross Budget estimate by Rs1 lakh crore in 2011-12. Meanwhile IT stocks are likely to remain in focus after industry body Nasscom opined that exports from India's information technology sector are set to grow more slowly for the year ending March 31, 2013. In order to bring more transparency to capital markets, regulator SEBI said listed firms will have to disclose details regarding utilisation of funds raised through warrants. Apart from this there will be lots of scrip specific actions to keep the markets buzzing and earning announcement of cement majors like ACC and Ambuja Cement too are scheduled later in the session.

Apart from this there will be lots of important result announcements. Adani Enterprises, Alfa Laval, Anant Raj Industries, Hindalco Industries, HPCL, Gammon India, GTL, Indiabulls Securities, Jindal Stainless, Jindal Saw, Tata Steel, MRF, Moser Baer, NDTV and Rajesh Exports are among the many to announce their numbers today.

US markets negotiated a close in positive territory on Wednesday amid choppy trades as investors remained cautious awaiting the Greek debt deal on reforms ahead of the country's second international bailout. The positive weekly mortgage applications data which rose last week owing to increased demand for refinancing also supported sentiments. The Asian markets though, have mostly made a negative opening and barring one-two indices most are trading with losses of around the half a percent. The unexpected rebound in Chinese inflation and reports that Greece's debt restructuring talks ended without a conclusive deal, are weighing on investors’ mood in the region.

Back home, Indian frontline equity indices staged a smart bounce back after hitting lowest point in the session in late hours of trade and recovered around half a percentage point to finish in the positive territory. The late rebound in sentiments came as investors grew increasingly hopeful that further external aid will soon be transferred to Greece helping to avoid a more disorderly default in the near term. On a day when all the Asian markets stood tall with significant gains, Indian stocks indices failed to mirror similar strength and settled on a dull note comparatively. Despite repeated attempts to claw beyond the psychological 5,400 (Nifty) and 17,800 (Sensex) mark, the levels proved as tough nuts to crack for the frontline indices. Nonetheless, the sentiments continued to remain positive thanks to the hefty buying interests evident largely across the board. The metal index shone brightly over one and half a percent gains on the back of reports that a Supreme Court panel has recommended for cancellation of 123 iron ore leases, which would be up for grab for steel companies. Meanwhile, sugar stocks like Shree Renuka, Bajaj Hindusthan along with rice stocks like Kohinoor Foods rallied in the session after EGoM approved export of one million tonnes of sugar. It also okayed further export of non-basmati rice up to 4 million tonnes and reduction of MEP (minimum export price) of basmati rice to $700 a tonne from $900 a tonne. Besides, the telecom major Bharti Airtel and oil bellwether ONGC plummeted in the session after announcing weaker than expected numbers for third quarter. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a positive opening tracking supportive leads from Asian markets. After trading on a flat note for some time the bourses managed to capitalize on the momentum in mid morning trades on broad based buying. The key gauges touched the highest point in session with the 30-share Sensex even breaching crucial 17,800 levels but sudden hefty bouts of profit booking dragged the index into the negative territory in the last leg of trade. However, bulls had the last say in the day as they pulled back the markets and ensured that the losing streak does not extend for second straight session. On the BSE sectoral space, Consumer Durables counter along with Realty and IT sectors finished with handsome gains while only the defensive-FMCG and rate sensitive Bankex indices failed to keep their heads above the water and slipped marginally. Finally, BSE Sensex gained 84.87 points or 0.48% to settle at 17,707.32, while S&P CNX Nifty rose by 33.00 points or 0.62% to close at 5,368.15.

The US markets ended with mild gains on Wednesday, on reports that Greece had drafted a new financing deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos began negotiating with political parties supporting his government on measures needed to qualify for rescue funds after postponing the meeting yesterday. Greece is promising to cut spending and sell stakes in six companies to qualify for a second bailout, according to a draft of the new financing deal. Greece will commit to permanent spending cuts that include reduced pension payments and a 20% cut in the minimum wage. Moreover, the US mortgage applications rose 7.5% last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association's benchmark index of mortgage applications rose 7.5% in the week ending February, following a drop of 2.9%. The increase was driven by a 9.4% rise in refinancing activity, as fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.05%, down from 4.09% the week before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 5.75 points, or 0.04 percent, at 12,884.00. The S&P 500 was up by 2.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,349.96, while the Nasdaq closed up 11.78 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,915.86.

Crude oil prices moved higher for a second straight session on Wednesday as sentiments got support from the EIA’s weekly crude stockpiles data which showed that oil inventories increased less than anticipated last week. However, the upside in oil prices was capped by weak overall demand. Brent crude, on the other hand climbed close to a percent amid optimism over Greece debt deal and on worries over Iran. Benchmark crude for March delivery rose $0.30 or 0.3% to settle at $98.71 a barrel after trading as high as $99.01 as low as 98.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, March delivery Brent crude climbed $0.97 or 0.8% to end at $117.20 a barrel.