Markets to make slightly positive start on Thursday

Indian markets ended higher on Wednesday, with Sensex settling at its new lifetime high of 40,469.78, led by robust gains in banking stocks. Today, the markets are likely to make flat-to-positive start amid fall in crude oil prices and an Rs 25,000 crore booster dose to the real estate sector announced by Finance Minister. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has approved setting up of an Rs 25,000 crore bailout fund to finance 1,600 stalled housing projects as it looks to boost the economy by kick starting incomplete projects. She said the government will establish a special window to provide priority debt financing for completion of stalled housing projects in the affordable and middle-income housing sector. Some support may also come with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that the government is on track to meet the target of cutting India's oil import dependence by 10 percent by 2020. Traders may take note of report that NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar called for a review of regulations under the Essential Commodities Act to protect the interests of farmers and boost agriculture exports. Though, some cautiousness may come with weakness in global markets. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said that the government needs to become more transparent on the fiscal numbers as it is a laggard among the G20 peers on this front. It added that the government has been missing its budgeted fiscal targets for the past few years and there is a need for a credible fiscal consolidation which is more ambitious as well. There will be some buzz in the infrastructure stocks with Crisil’s report that road developers are looking at a massive plunge in their revenue growth to the tune of 50 percent during the current and next fiscals mainly due to the delays in awarding new projects. Metal stocks will be in focus with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that steel consumption in India is set for a quantum jump and investors should come forward and become a partner in the country's growth story.

The US markets ended mixed on Wednesday as markets weighed a report that an interim China-US trade deal could be delayed until December and weakness in the energy sector underscored by disappointing corporate quarterly results. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Thursday as reports of delays in sealing a preliminary Sino-US trade deal left investors frustrated at the lack of concrete progress.

Back home, Indian equity markets resumed the gaining rally on Wednesday, with Sensex and Nifty ending higher by around 225 and 50 points, respectively. After a negative start, key indices remained lackluster during morning deals, amid a private report that the government may discontinue spending on 200-odd schemes in order to stick to its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent. Domestic sentiments remained pessimistic, as Fitch Solutions raised India's fiscal deficit forecast to 3.6 percent of the GDP for this fiscal year, from 3.4 percent previously, due to weak revenue collections resulting from sluggish economic growth and government's sweeping corporate tax rate cut. However, markets staged sharp recovery in noon deals to settle in positive terrain, aided with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government will soon use its strong electoral mandate to usher in the next wave of reforms, and not to miss the bus this time. Traders took encouragement with Nasscom’s statement that with the addition of more than 1,300 startups this year so far, India continues to reinforce its position as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. Adding comfort, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India’s services sector has huge potential to generate job opportunities and push country’s gross domestic product growth. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 221.55 points or 0.55% to 40,469.78, while the CNX Nifty was up by 48.85 points or 0.41% to 11,966.05.