The Indian markets consolidated in the last session, though the major averages managed a flat closing but the mood remained cautious and the trade choppy for the day. Today, the start is likely to remain cautious and a mildly soft start can be seen on the sluggish global cues, and the Nifty can once again retest 7450 mark. However, there will be some support too, to the markets with Moody's Investors Service stating that though the prolonged decline in oil prices and weaker expansion in Chinese economy have dimmed growth prospects of several economies, but it does not signal a threat of global recession. It stated we believe that the positive impact of lower commodity prices on global growth helps mitigate the negative effect from the financial market turbulence. Meanwhile, putting off some pressure from the RBI, Chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian said that we should not peg all the hopes on a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India to cure the economy from all that plagues it. There will be some buzz in the banking stocks, as the government has put its weight behind the ailing banks in their pursuit to recover as much money as possible from the corporate houses, which have been unable to meet their payment obligations. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has informed that Public sector banks’ (PSBs) bad loans increased by Rs 94,666 crore in first nine months of the current financial year.
The US markets snapped their gaining streak, with the major averages racing lower along with crude oil prices in the last session. The Asian markets have extended their decline on concern over the state of the global economy. Japanese market was down in the wake of new data reinforcing its economic woes.
Back home, Indian equity indices commenced the week on a sluggish note as the benchmarks showcased an unenthusiastic performance on Tuesday and settled on a flat note. Sentiments remained dismal as worries over global economic growth prospects prompted marketmen to take profits off the table ahead of the European Central Bank's policy review on Thursday and US Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. On the domestic front, sentiments were undermined 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. Besides, depreciation in Indian rupee too dampened sentiments. Breaking its sixth-day rising streak, Indian rupee weakened by 31 paise to quote at 67.39 against the dollar at the time of equity markets closing on fresh demand for the American currency from importers and banks. Sentiments remained subdued with assistant Secretary for Global Markets in the US Department of Commerce, Arun Kumar said that a BJP has not moved as fast as expected to implement long-awaited reforms like the GST, Bankruptcy Law and Land Acquisition Bill. He asked American businesses to be patient since reforms cannot be implemented overnight. However, investor Sentiment got 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. On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red, while European counters also made an awful start. Earlier on Dalal Street, after making a flat but positive start, Indian benchmarks indices showed some strength in early trades, but the sentiments turned pessimistic in late morning trades as investors booked profits in financials after sharp gains in the previous week while technology shares weakened tracking losses in their counterparts on the Nasdaq. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 12.75 points or 0.05% to 24659.23, while the CNX Nifty declined 0.05 points to 7,485.30.
