Anxious about the outcome! Anxious about the outcome!

Most Asian indices are up following overnight gains on Wall Street. Oil spiked on reports of a pipeline explosion but the same was later denied by Saudi Arabia.
Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be. ~Sydney J. Harris.

Elections are hogging the headlines and the final outcome of the five assembly elections, especially that in UP, will be crucial. While the media reports are throwing up disparate possibilities, one has to bear in mind that elections in India are as unpredictable as a game of cricket. So to jump to any conclusion at this juncture will be a little premature. Also, political equations change rapidly in India, particularly after the verdict is out. ‘Wait and watch’ would be the best approach to take.



We expect market players to remain cautious in light of the uncertainty over election results. The start is likely to be flattish. Asian markets are indecisive. US stocks finished in the red while European markets ended mixed.

Volatility may rise in the coming days as market reacts to a spate of key events such as IIP and inflation data, RBI’s policy meet, Union Budget and advance tax numbers.


FII flows seem to have tapered off and globally the ‘risk on’ rally appears to be losing steam. It’s time to stay alert and narrow down on the stocks you would like to buy. Opportunities in terms of lower prices could well come your way in the coming weeks.

Indian market continued to consolidate for a second straight week but the Nifty has held up well above the support of 5300 on a closing basis. An inside bar on Friday's trading session indicates indecisiveness and a breakout beyond the range of 5295-5395 would determine the near-term direction of the Indian market.

Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net sellers of Rs. 95mn in the cash segment on Saturday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Rs. 48.7mn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.

The FIIs were net buyers of Rs. 509.8mn in the F&O segment on Saturday, according to the provisional NSE data.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs. 2.75bn in the cash segment on Thursday, as per SEBI web site. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs. 2.57bn on the same day.

Global Data Watch: HSBC China services PMI (53.9 vs 52.5), Germany services PMI, Eurozone services PMI, Eurozone retail sales, US factory orders and US ISM Non-manufacturing index.

Global data to watch this week: Services PMI, RBA policy meeting, Eurozone Q4 GDP, Australia Q4 GDP, Japan Q4 GDP, Bank of England interest rate decision, ECB policy met, China retail sales, China CPI, China industrial production, US non-farm payrolls and US unemployment rate.