Markets likely to make gap-down opening on Friday

Indian markets ended higher but off day's high on Thursday led by energy and metal stocks. Today, the markets are likely to make gap-down start of session following sell-off in the global peers. All eyes will be on the Q3 gross domestic product (GDP) data, to be released later in the day, which will shed light on whether the economy continued to be in recession in the third quarter of FY21 or it ended with the second quarter only. However, some respite may come later in the day as India Inc said privatisation except in strategic sectors would unleash exciting opportunities, boost investments in infrastructure and create jobs. Some support may come as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this year's budget has negated the notion that welfare state is a socialist prerogative, and added that it has given a directional change to the Indian economy, wherein the government trusts wealth creators and citizens. Meanwhile, a nationwide bandh call has been given by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to protest against rising fuel prices, the E-Way Bill, and the complex structure of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Marketplaces across India are likely to remain shut on Friday as over 40,000 trader associations have responded to the cause. Metal stocks will be in focus as industry body Indian Steel Association (ISA) said there is an urgent need to increase and improve the logistics arrangement for the domestic steel sector. There will be some reaction in auto component industry stocks as industry body Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said the domestic auto component industry is expected to log in double-digit growth next fiscal, as demand picks up month on month after a prolonged period of downturn. There will be some buzz in pharma stocks as Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda said the government is continuously working to reduce regulatory compliance burden on the pharma industry in a bid to improve ease of doing business in the country. Besides, RailTel’s shares will make their stock market debut today. The Rs 819 crore initial public offering (IPO) from the Ministry of Railways, its second public issue of 2021, had earlier this month garnered a subscription tally of 42.39 times.

The US markets closed in red on Thursday as technology-related stocks remained under pressure following a rise in US bond yields. Asian markets are trading lower on Friday tracking fall on Wall Street overnight.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended Thursday’s volatile session by over half percent higher each, with energy, oil and gas and metal stocks accounting for most of the gains, amid strong cues from global peers. The benchmarks staged a gap up opening, as traders took encouragement with a private report that India's economy is likely to have returned to growth in the December quarter due to the easing of restrictions on movement after the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic peaked. Some support also came in as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced yet another round of Open Market Operations (OMO) or simultaneous purchase and sale of gilts on March 4. Under this, the RBI will buy Rs 15,000 crore worth bonds in four different papers and sell Rs 150,000 crore worth bonds in two different securities. However, the benchmarks came off intraday highs due to monthly expiry of February futures and option contracts. Some concern also came with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the central bank is concerned over the impact of cryptocurrencies may have on the financial stability in the economy and has conveyed the same to the government. He said ‘we have certain major concerns about cryptocurrencies. But key indices managed to end session with over half percent gains each, as Moody's projected India's growth for the next financial year beginning April 1, to 13.7 percent, from 10.8 percent estimated earlier, on the back of normalisation of activity and growing confidence in the market with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine. Some optimism also remained among traders with S&P Global Ratings’ statement that an improvement in macroeconomic conditions is likely to alleviate stress for India's banking sector. It said the Indian government's strong efforts to shield banks from the COVID-19 pandemic have largely been successful, but a hit from the pandemic is inevitable. Traders also took a note of private report stated that the number of ultra-high networth individuals (UHNWIs), with wealth of $30 million or more, is expected to rise 63 percent over the next five years to 11,198 in India, the second fastest growth in the world. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 257.62 points or 0.51% to 51,039.31, while the CNX Nifty was up by 115.35 points or 0.77% to 15,097.35.