We’re living in an up down world!

"Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river." - Horace.

Consider yourself lucky even if you have been on the sidelines of late. Few can stomach the gyrations like we had this week, with stocks swinging wildly. So, after Wednesday’s steep fall markets in the US and Europe rallied on Thursday. Positive news on weekly jobless claims and Cisco’s results helped lift sagging spirits on Wall Street. Recovery in banks aided the advance in Europe. Meanwhile, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have banned short-selling.



For India, we are looking at a firm opening as most Asian markets are up this morning. IIP data for June coupled with the listing of L&T Finance Holding will be in the spotlight. A breakout above 5200 could lift the Nifty further up. Overall, it is likely to trade in a range of 5000 and 5300 in the immediate term. Volatility is likely to prevail till the flow of bad news subsides.

Fund flows in the Indian markets have not been that bad considering the intensity of the selloff. The Government too is trying its best to address the governance deficit. But, inflation continues to be a big headache with food inflation flaring in end-July.

On the macro-economic front, exports continue to be robust but might moderate in the coming months owing to slowdown in the US and Europe. Tax collections and credit growth have also help up quite well amid signs of moderation in industrial output. Meeting the fiscal deficit target (4.6% of GDP) will take some doing as GDP projections have been scaled down and disinvestment is in a limbo.

SBI and ICICI Bank have raised lending rates by 50 bps.

Bajaj Hindusthan, BPCL, Coal India, HPCL, Hindalco, Tech Mahindra, HDIL, Jaiprakash Associates, Unitech, Tata Steel and Punj Lloyd are among the important companies announcing their earnings today.

The Tree House IPO closes today.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs 597.9mn in the cash segment on Thursday, according to the provisional NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions (DIIs) were net buyers at Rs 2.66bn on the same day. FIIs were net sellers at Rs 720.50mn (provisional) in the F&O segment.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 2.48bn in the cash segment on Wednesday, according to the final SEBI data. Mutual Funds were net buyers at Rs 2.9bn on the same day.

Global Data Watch: China FDI data, Japan's industrial production, EU industrial output, US retail sales and US consumer sentiment.