The Indian markets posted modest gains in last session after remaining range bound throughout the day. Today, the start is likely to be good on cheerful global cues. However, there will be some cautiousness too, as the global rating agency Moody’s has said that a fragmented government, without a clear mandate or policy platform, would increase the risk of downgrade for India. Today, the trade is likely to be influenced by many activities ranging from political to economic. The data on industrial production for December 2013 slated to be announced later in the day will be most eagerly watched, while the railways related stocks will be in limelight as the government will present the interim railway budget. Facing a revenue shortfall, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in his maiden budget may not bring about a reduction in basic passenger fares although he may make changes in the fuel adjustment component for minimum impact on ticket prices. There will be some action in banking license aspirants and the existing banks, as Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a bid to create a level playing field for existing banks and new players has mandated strict intra-group exposure norms that will take effect from October. Auto sector stocks too will see some action, as the he Indian automobile industry has sought tax sops from government after reporting the fourth straight monthly fall in domestic car sales in January.
Today is a results heavy day and lots of important companies will be announcing their numbers, Apollo Tyres, Bata India, BPCL, Cipla , Coal India, Eicher Motors, IL&FS Transportation Networks and Tata Communications etc. will release their earnings for December quarter
The US markets surged, reacting positively to the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s first day of Congressional testimony. As expected she said that Fed would continue to reduce the pace of asset purchases in measured steps but reiterated that a highly accommodative policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the asset purchases end. The Asian markets have mostly made a positive start led by Japanese shares and tracking the gains in the US markets, though the Chinese market was marginally in red despite trade data exceeding estimates.
Back home, the Indian markets fared comparatively better on Tuesday, to what they had gone through last session, though there was no major gain but volatility too was not seen at any point of time. There was a modest gap-up start and the benchmarks kept their spirit high, trading in a range throughout the session, there were some instances of profit booking but at no point market looked losing hold. However, sense of cautiousness too prevailed in the market ahead of the US Federal Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony on monetary policy and the nation's economic outlook. Earlier the US markets closed modestly higher, the Asian markets ended with good gains, while the European markets extending their gains made a good start, following upbeat cues from Asian markets. Back home, the Indian markets though could not made an impressive mark but remained firm in day’s trade and never faltered from the range. The cautiousness mainly emerged in early deals with Credit Suisse and Nielsen’s latest survey showing that confidence among emerging market consumers has deteriorated during the last year and that optimism level in India has also slipped four percentage points over last year and India was ranked fifth in the list. The good economic data too was unable to put life into the market, India's trade deficit narrowed in January to $9.92 billion, helped by a 77 per cent drop in imports of gold and silver. However, exports growth remained almost flat, up by 3.79 percent year-on-year to $26.75 billion, compared with a 3.5 percent annual growth in December. Market, moves on upside was partially restricted by the weakness in heavyweight Reliance Industries, which came under pressure after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked anti-corruption branch for legal cases to be filed against Reliance Industry Chairman Mukesh Ambani and some ministers, over pricing of gas produced from the KG-D6 basin. IT stocks were the major gainers of the trade after software industry body Nasscom forecasted that IT sector exports will grow by 13-15 percent as against 13 percent (Y-o-Y) in FY15. It also said that domestic IT market is expected to grow 9-12 percent and the additional FY15 revenue will be $13-14 billion in FY15. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 29.10 points or 0.14%, to settle at 20363.37, while the CNX Nifty added 9.25 points or 0.15% to settle at 6,062.70.
