18.Apr.2016: Pre Market Report: Gap down opening seen for Dalal Street on global sell-off

Pre Session- Gap down opening seen for Dalal Street on global sell-off
18/04/2016

The key Indian equity benchmarks may open lower on Monday as traders weigh a bearish trend across Asian markets amidst a sharp plunge in oil prices following the failure of Doha talks where major oil producers were unable to reach an agreement on limiting output to ease a supply glut, souring sentiment in risky assets. Markets from China to Hong Kong and Japan bled heavily as traders shunned equities and fled to safe haven assets.

A decline in the CNX Nifty Index futures for April delivery which fell by 0.44 per cent or 35 points to 7,896.5 at 10:42 am Singapore time, signals a negative opening for the Sensex today. The focus will be on the country’s biggest software exporter TCS which will unveil its Q4 numbers today while the March wholesale inflation data is also due during the course of the trading session. Shares of Infosys may witness an upward movement after the IT major on Friday trumped Street estimates by posting a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,597 crore, up by 3.8 per cent on a sequential basis. Moreover, some volatility may plague the local bourses ahead of tomorrow’s trading holiday. The 30-share Sensex which was closed on Thursday and Friday advanced by 481.16 points or by 1.91 per cent at 25,626.75 as the Met Department’s prediction of a good monsoon, and upbeat macroeconomic data brought cheer to traders. Snapping three months of contraction, India’s industrial output climbed 2 per cent, year on year in February 2016 while consumer inflation softened to 4.8 per cent in March 2016 from 5.3 per cent in February, raising hopes of more interest rate cuts.