The Indian markets after a choppy trade ended marginally lower in last session lacking any major supporting cues. Today, the start of the holiday truncated week is likely to be mildly in red tailing the weakness in the other regional markets. Though trade may remain range bound and markets may get some support with Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das’ statement that a Parliamentary panel is expected to submit its report on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code on April 29 and government would push for the passage of the bill in the second leg of the Budget session. Also, Naushad Forbes, the new President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said that Indian industry is ready to grant greater market access to European Union firms in areas such as automobiles, wines and spirits in return for gains in garments, automobiles, automobile components and services sector in a bid to end a deadlock on the proposed EU Free Trade Agreement. However, there will be cautiousness too with a WTO report stating that India's rank remained unchanged at 19th in 2015 in the list of top 30 merchandise exporters of the world, though India's ranking among top importers slipped by one notch to 13th in 2015. India's exports dipped by 17.2 percent to $ 267 billion last year while imports aggregated at $ 392 billion. The banking sector stocks will be in focus, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued instructions on trading in Priority Sector Lending Certificates. RBI also launched a platform to enable trading in the certificates through its Core Banking Solution (CBS) portal (e-Kuber).
The US markets made a modestly positive close in last session but were well off their day’s high, as the trade turned choppy in the latter half. The Asian markets have made mostly a lower start led by the Japanese market which is down by over a percent, as the yen headed for its longest winning streak since 2012. However the Chinese market was bucking the trend on reports that country’s March retail auto sales rose 7.8% on year.
Back home, After remaining volatile throughout the session, Indian equity benchmarks ended the session on a flat note on Friday, as participants remained cautious ahead of the March quarter earnings due to kick start in the coming week. Sustained capital outflows by foreign funds and volatility in the oil and commodity segments too dented sentiment. Investors remained cautious with a report that drought in southern states has affected the cultivation of major commodities like rice, cotton and spices. Production of these commodities is likely to come down sharply if the absence of summer rains prevails. However, market participant got some comfort with a private report that Indian consumers remain most optimistic, among nine nations surveyed. According to the report India topped the chart, while China and Saudi Arabia shared the second position. Some support to the market also came with global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service's latest report stating that low commodity prices and better FDI inflows have reduced India's vulnerability to external shocks which is 'credit positive' for India. It also said that India's external financing needs have diminished significantly over the last three years. On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red on Friday, while European equities rose in early trading on Friday as firmer prices of metals and crude oil boosted resource-related stocks. Back home, the benchmark got off to a sedate opening tracking the dismal leads prevailing in Asian markets and overnight losses on Wall Street on concerns over global economy slowdown. Thereafter, the indices kept oscillating in a narrow range for most part of the session in the absence of any positive triggers. But some final hour profit booking followed by mild short covering ensured that the key gauges end the session on a flat note. Finally, the BSE Sensex declined 11.58 points or 0.05% to 24673.84, while the CNX Nifty rose 8.75 points or 0.12% to 7,555.20.
