The Indian markets continued their rally mood and snapped the March series with over six percent of gains, apart from some last moment volatility markets remained fir throughout the session supported by continued foreign fund inflows in the domestic equities. Today, the start of the new series is likely to be in green and markets will extend their momentum on the last trading day of the week, tailing the good going in the regional peers. Stocks related to exports and imports are likely to remain buzzing with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxing some of the restrictions related to hedging of currency risk of probable exposures of exporters and importers. This will give them greater operational flexibility. The banking stocks that have been pulling markets higher in recent times are likely to get some respite with the RBI extending the timeline for full implementation of the Basel III capital regulations by a year to March 31, 2019. However, there will be some cautiousness among the banking licences hopefuls as the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) has urged the Election Commission to not to provide any permission to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for award of banking licences to corporate houses. Fertilizers stocks too are likely to come under somber mood, as the Government has reduced potash subsidy by Rs 3.33 per kg for 2014-15 financial year taking into consideration the fall in international prices.
The US markets ended modestly lower in last session on getting mixed economic data, while the US economy grew a bit faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, the contracts to buy previously owned homes fell in February. Most of the Asian markets have made a good start, heading for the best weekly gains since April.
Back home, Indian stock markets snapped the March futures and options series on a strong note with massive gains of over six percent. Moreover, the expiry session turned out to be a tremendous day of trade for Indian equity markets, as both the frontline indices recorded fresh all time closing high with Sensex surpassing its crucial 22,200 level, while Nifty ending just shy of 6,650 mark with traders rolling over their positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month March 2014 series to April 2014 series. After a cautious start, domestic bourses started moving northward and traded firmly throughout the session, though some volatility was witnessed near the end of the trade where markets lost some ground. Overall sentiments remained up-beat on rating agency Moody’s report, which said that the sharp fall in India's current account deficit (CAD), will limit its vulnerability to global financial market volatility, though persistently high inflation remains a major risk. India’s CAD dropped sharply to $4.2 billion or 0.9% of GDP during October-December 2013 from $31.9 billion or 6.5% of GDP in the same quarter last year. Sentiments also got a boost by data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made substantial purchases of Indian stocks on March 26, 2014. On the global front, the US markets ended lower by over half a percent, European markets too traded mostly in the red in early deals, though most of the Asian equity indices ended in the green. Back home, buying in metals and mining sector stocks too supported the sentiments after a panel set up by Supreme Court recommended lifting a ban on iron ore mining in Goa, albeit limiting output to 20 million tonnes, about 40 per cent of what the state produced in the year ended March 31, 2012. The court will consider the panel’s suggestions in few days. Also, the government has finally set up a coal regulatory authority through an executive order to bring transparency in the sector, which will advice the government on the principles and methodologies to determine the price. Shares of state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) too edged higher after the Election Commission said that OMCs could revise petrol prices without seeking the panel’s approval. State-owned oil firms are due to announce revised petrol and diesel prices on March 31. Additionally, the aviation stocks too remained on buyers’ radar after the RBI extended the deadline for raising working capital via external commercial borrowings by domestic airlines to March 2015 from December 2013. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 119.07 points or 0.54% to settle at 22,214.37, while the CNX Nifty gained 40.35 points or 0.61% to settle at 6,641.75.
