Market may open flat
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets extended losses after a sudden slide in late trade on the December F&O expiry day, led by losses in HDFC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, ITC, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs, Coal India and TCS. The Nifty was down 92.90 points (1%) at 8174.10 and the Sensex sunk 297.85 points (1.08%) at 27208.61.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet at a meeting on 24 December 2014, approved issuance of ordinances to implement coal and insurance reforms as the government was unable to get the Insurance Bill and Coal Bill passed during the winter session of parliament which concluded on 23 December 2014. The coal ministry on 24 December 2014 said that it will commence the first batch of e-auction process for 24 Schedule II coal mines from 25 December 2014.
E-auction of coal mines for qualified bidders will be held from Feb 14, 2015 to Feb 22, 2015. The entire mine allocation process for Schedule II coal mines will be completed by March 23, 2015 with the signing of Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement and the Vesting Order.
The government has hiked import duty on both crude and refined edible oil by 5% to protect the interest of domestic farmers and oil processors amid fall in global prices, a move that may lead to rise in retail prices. The customs duty on crude oil has been increased to 7.5% from 2.5% earlier, while the duty on refined edible oil has been raised to 15% from 10%, as per the notification issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Commodity markets regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has allowed MCX to launch crude oil mini futures contracts for next year. Earlier, MCX is offering mini futures contracts in some of the base metals and precious metals.
European and US stocks markets were closed Thursday for the Christmas holiday, while financial markets in Hong Kong and Australia were among those in Asia closed on Friday. Therefore attention was on a flurry of monthly indicators released by Japan ahead of trade opening.
Asian markets open with mixed. Japan stock markets were lackluster following the release of a mixed bag of economic data. The Nikkei 225 index extended Thursday's losses to inch down 0.2%, as the yen dropped modestly against the greenback to trade at 120.21. Meanwhile, the broader Topix was little moved. The Shanghai Composite Index trading 1% above while Taiwanese shares elevated 0.2%. Singapore's Straits Times index eased 0.2% early Friday. SGX Nifty is trading marginally above with 4.5 points. We expect a flat opening for Indian Equities.