The Indian markets before going for a long weekend continued their gaining streak albeit modestly on Friday. Today, the start is likely to be cautious tailing the somber global cues. There will be some concern with the MNI Consumer Sentiment index falling to 108.9 in February from 109.8 in January, indicating sluggish sentiment among end consumer as they grapple with volatile markets and deteriorating personal finances. However, the markets may get some support with international rating agency Fitch maintaining India's growth forecast at 7.5 percent for the financial year 2015-16 and projecting the GDP growth of 7.7 per cent in the FY2017, which is 0.3 per cent lower than its December forecast of 8 per cent, but much in line with the government’s projection. The agency also sees RBI cutting key policy rates by 25 basis points and brushes off concerns over global recession. There will be some buzz in the steel stocks on report that domestic steel output fell despite rise in consumption. Domestic steel consumption grew by 4.3% during the April-February period of the current financial year, while production of domestic industry fell by 1.9%. Mining and mineral stocks too may see some action, as the Cabinet is likely to consider mines ministry's proposal to allow auction of 100 mineral blocks for exploration as early as this week.
The US markets extended their gaining streak with the help of surge in energy stocks and the Dow rose for a fifth consecutive session. The Asian markets have made mostly a weak start led by the Chinese market which has tumbled over two percent ahead of the release of trade data that may show a deepening slump in the nation’s trade. Also, the Chinese foreign-exchange reserves fell by $28.6 billion to $3.2 trillion last month.
Back home, Friday’s trading session was of consolidation as the Indian frontline indices appeared a bit fatigued and remained in directionless trajectory for most part of the day. Nevertheless, the benchmarks managed to extend the winning momentum for the fourth consecutive day of trade, as local sentiments continued to show signs of improvement. Markets got some support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India is set to take a quantum leap in infrastructure and the government is committed to strengthening it. The Prime Minister has unveiled an ambitious Rs 50,800 crore Setu Bharatam project, under which a total of 208 railway crossings will be replaced by rail over bridges (ROBs). As part of the project, 1,500 bridges of the British era will be overhauled at an estimated expenditure of Rs 30,000 crore. Investors also got some comfort with the report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 911.98 crore on March 03, 2016. Besides, firm global cues coupled with the appreciation in rupee value against the dollar added to the optimistic sentiments. Staying on the upward trajectory for the sixth straight day, Indian rupee gained another 13 paise to trade at 67.21 against the US dollar at the time of equity markets closing. Some support also came with Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha’s statement that the government has a ‘very good sense’ of the problem of bad loans in banking sector and will continue to provide funds to strengthen state-owned banks. However, investors remained cautious with weak services PMI data released last day. Growth in India's services firms fell to a three-month low of 51.4 in February from 54.3 in January, as output rose only marginally. On the global front, Asian stock markets ended mostly in green on Friday, while European shares made a firm start. Back home, after getting strong start, Indian equity benchmarks dropped into the negative territory, lacking any significant upside cues and slipped to intraday lows in mid morning session. However, the psychological 7,450 and 24,550 levels proved as strong support levels for the key gauges as the benchmarks soon recovered from the lows. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 39.49 points or 0.16% to 24646.48, while the CNX Nifty rose 9.75 points or 0.13% to 7,485.35. Indian markets remained closed on Monday on account of Mahashivratri.
