Market May Remain Volatile Amid F&O Expiry
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets start with positive opening of the week led by gains in defensive stocks such as ITC on worries the selling spree by foreign investors might continue till year-end, while higher Asian shares underpin the broader market. The Sensex ended up 330 points i.e. 1.21% at 28499.54 after hitting intra-day record high of 27,725.27. The Nifty reclaimed the 8,300-marku and closed up 98.80 points i.e. 1.2% at 8,324.
The broader markets also remained supportive with the S&P BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices moving up 0.92% and 0.35% respectively. The market breadth in BSE was positive with 1,557 shares advancing and 1,351 shares declining. Foreign investors sold nearly USD 1 billion worth of shares over nine consecutive sessions of selling, amid a brewing financial crisis in Russia and a crude oil slump, regulatory data show. They still remain net buyers of Indian equities worth USD 16.5 billion in 2014 so far.
Globally, the US stock markets rose for a fourth straight session Monday still cheered by last week's US Federal Reserve meeting. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at new records. The S&P 500 gained 7.9 points (0.38%) to 2,078.55, closing at a record for the 50th time this year. This is the highest number of record closes in a year since 1995. Gains were even larger for the Dow Jones Industrial Average which rose 154.64 points (0.87%) to 17,959.44. The Nasdaq Composite ended 16 points (0.34%) higher at 4,781.42.
Europe market also closed in positive. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.48% to 6,576.76 points on Monday, the Paris CAC 40 added 0.30% to 4,254.43, and in Frankfurt the DAX 30 rose 0.81% to 9,865.76. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5% to 341.97.
A holiday lull settled over Asian markets on Today after US market closed at historic highs while oil prices suffered a vicious setback after Saudi Arabia quashed all thought of cutting supply. Japanese markets will be closed on Today for a public holiday. The Hang Seng Index trading at flat and the Shanghai Composite Index down 2.22% to 3,060. The SGX Nifty is open in positive by 16.5 points i.e. 0.20%. However, we expect Indian benchmark indices to remain quite volatile, on account of December F&O expiry on Wednesday 24th December, 2014. The stock market remains closed on Thursday, 25 December 2014, on account of Christmas. Today, the winter session of parliament to expire, participants would be eyeing the fate of several crucial bills like Insurance.