Against the backdrop of rising bets of fresh monetary easing in Asia’s third biggest economy in the near-term, the key domestic benchmarks are poised to kick-start the last trading session of the week on a positive note. Record decline in wholesale prices in April, coupled with consumer inflation skidding to a four-month low offered evidence of muted inflationary pressures, leaving ample room for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to press the interest rate cut button for a third time this year at its upcoming policy meet on June 2, 2015. Wholesale inflation in India remained in the negative zone for the sixth month on the trot in April 2015 driven by a softening global commodity price cycle. Wholesale prices fell 2.65 per cent in April 2015 from the same month a year ago, following an annual 2.33 per cent dip in March 2015, government data showed. Strength in the SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for May delivery which climbed 0.16 per cent to 8,249.5 at 10:33 am in Singapore and bullish cues from most major Asian markets tracking a record finish at Wall Street on Thursday also signals a gap up opening in Indian stocks. While Shanghai Composite fell on concerns that new share sales may divert funds from existing stocks, Hang Sang was trading in the green on further China stimulus speculation while a weaker yen boosted Japanese shares. American stocks surged on Thursday with benchmark S&P 500 hitting a fresh high as investors cheered a weaker dollar while a drop in the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits signaled an improving labour market in the world’s biggest economy. Jobless claims edged lower by 1,000 to 264,000 last week while the four-week average slid to the lowest level since 2000.
