Market cues: Nifty set for big cut, Asia down

Indian markets are likely to start lower as indicted by the futures trade on the Nifty index. At 08.20 a.m, the SGX Nifty traded 33.50 points or 0.67 per cent lower at 4,935.50."Markets are likely to trade in a range of 4,930-5,020 over the next few sessions. 4,930 would finally get broken. The US dollar remains a key concern. If the dollar breaks out of the multi-year trend line, most asset classes, except gold, would come down," independent analyst Sarvendra Srivastava said.Asian markets:Asian shares slipped on Wednesday, hurt by fears that Spain's banking woes will push up the country's borrowing costs to unsustainable levels although falls were limited on hopes that Greece would stay in the euro zone and for China stimulus steps. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2 percent, while Japan's Nikkei average opened down 0.2 percent. Major U.S. stock indices and European shares had closed higher on Tuesday.Currency:The rupee dropped on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as strong dollar demand from oil firms to meet month-end import commitments and a pullback in domestic shares from the day's highs weighed heavily. The rupee, which had hit a record low against the dollar on Thursday, appears vulnerable for further falls, especially given fragile global risk sentiment because of the euro zone's woes. The partially convertible rupee closed at 55.67/68 per dollar, 0.9 percent below its close of 55.1850/1950 on Monday.The euro also eased, with selling prompted by a rating cut of Spain's credit to B from BB-minus by Egan-Jones Ratings, the third downgrade from the agency in less than a month. The euro eased 0.2 percent to $1.2479 on Wednesday, hovering near its 23-month low of $1.2461 reached on Tuesday, when it also touched a four-month low against the yen of 98.94 yen. The euro's plight hoisted the dollar index, measured against a basket of major currencies, to its highest since September 2010 of 82.61 on Tuesday, helping to drag down dollar-sensitive commodities. A weaker euro suppressed gold, which fell 1 percent on Tuesday.In Spain, new bonds will soon be issued to fund ailing lenders and indebted regions, fuelling fears the country's refinancing stresses could spin out of control and push its borrowing costs beyond the 7 percent level seen as unsustainable. Sovereign debt yields exceeding that level have prompted other troubled euro zone economies to seek a global bailout.Global cues: The European Commission will set out its economic strategy for the euro zone on Wednesday, spelling out measures to balance growth with unpopular fiscal consolidation that will be particularly pointed for Spain and Italy.Investors are looking for fresh catalysts to provide direction at least for the near-term as they wait for Greece's election.One possible catalyst is U.S. May jobs data due on Friday, which will help investors gauge the strength of the U.S. economic recovery. China's official manufacturing data is also due on Friday.Stocks to watch for: Tata Motors Q4 disappointed on JLR marginsONGC's financial performance for the March quarter surprised the Stree.Indian spirits company United Spirits reported disappointing results.Sun Pharmaceutical Q4 consolidated net profit was up 85 per cent, revenues grew 60 per cent. Sales rose on pre-booking of revenues in domestic formulations business. Dilip Shanghvi, who has built Sun Pharma into India's most valuable drugmaker in less than three decades, has stepped down as its chairman in favour of Israel Markov, the former CEO of Taro Pharma.(With inputs from Reuters)

Market cues: Nifty set for big cut, Asia down

In an interview to NDTV Profit, former Reserve Bank of India governor Dr. Bimal Jalan said that there is a need for a credible policy to prevent the rupee’s fall as expectations on the currency direction are critical.

NDTV Profit

NDTV Profit

Follow Us

DISCOVER US FASTER

DOWNLOAD THE APP