Indian equities are tipped to extend Wednesday’s advance as a positive trend across markets in Asia amid the US Federal Reserve’s signal that it is unlikely to tighten interest rates at its upcoming monetary policy meet in June, bolsters investor appetite. With no major domestic economic data due this week, traders will continue to keep an eye on corporate earnings numbers, with automaker Bajaj Auto in focus as it unveils its March quarter report card on Thursday. The next big trigger for the Sensex will be the RBI’s policy meet on June 2 in which a 25 basis points interest rate cut is a huge possibility while investors will watch the progress of the South-West Monsoon set to hit Indian shores on May 30, 2015. Meanwhile, markets are likely to consolidate Wednesday’s gains when the Sensex climbed by 191.68 points or by 0.69 per cent to end at 27,837.21. Strength in the SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for May delivery which rose 0.20 per cent to 8,439 at 10:43 am Singapore time, signals a gap up opening at Dalal Street on Thursday. Bullish cues from most major Asian markets will offer support to Dalal Street as investors cheered the FOMC minutes released overnight in which the world’s top central bank indicated that it is no hurry to initiate a maiden rate lift-off since 2006 even as it expects the world’s biggest economy to overcome its Q1 stutter which was attributed to “transitory factors”. Many members “thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied”, the minutes showed. Shanghai Composite was trading in the green as a contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity bolstered the case for further stimulus to spur a rebound in the world’s second biggest economy. The HSBC China manufacturing PMI came in at 49.1 in May, compared to 48.9 in April, with a reading below 50 signaling contraction. Hang Seng fell while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was boosted by a rebound in manufacturing activity this month. The gauge measuring manufacturing in Japan climbed to 50.9 in May from 49.9 in April, pointing to a pickup in the world’s third biggest economy that accelerated last quarter.
