Market Likely To Open Flat To Negative

Indian equities indices posted its worst monthly fall in more than two years, muted corporate earnings growth in March quarter and a more gradual economic growth. However in FY15 the Sensex posted 25% growth which is biggest fiscal year gain in six fiscal years mainly driven by surge in foreign inflows after the Narendra Modi-led government took charge and a sharp drop in crude oil prices.

For the day, however, the Sensex settled in the red after giving up early gains to end the fiscal year marginally down by 18.37 points at 27,957.49. The broader market sentiment remained strong as small-cap and mid-cap counters outshined the Sensex by 0.31% and 0.88%, respectively.

India’s infrastructure output growth dipped to a 17-month low in February at 1.4 per cent, pulled down by contraction in the production of steel, fertilisers and refinery products and causing analysts to predict that the last quarter GDP growth could be a bit less than 7.4% officially estimated. The expansion of the eight core-sector industries, was subdued in January too at 1.8%. The February growth in eight core-sector industries, which have a total weight of 38% in the index of industrial production (IIP), was the slowest after -0.1% growth reported in October 2013.

US stock market closed out the first quarter of the year Tuesday on a down note, erasing much of the gains from the prior day’s big rally and feeling the pressure of uncertainty over a Iran nuclear deal. The Dow Jones industrial average failed to post gains for the first quarter, showing a loss of 0.26%. The Nasdaq posted gains of 3.48% for the quarter, marking the index's first nine-quarter winning streak. The S&P eked out its own nine-quarter run with a gain of 0.44% last quarter. For the day, The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200.19 points, or 1.11%, to 17,776.12, the S&P 500 lost 18.35 points, or 0.88%, to 2,067.89 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 46.56 points, or 0.94%, to 4,900.88.

European stock markets closed significantly lower yesterday following mixed eurozone data and contentious Greek bailout talks, while London’s main index failed to gain after an upgrade of British economic growth. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 tumbled 1.72% to end the day at 6,773.04 points. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index slumped 0.99% to close at 11,966.17 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.98% to 5,033.64 points.

Asian stock markets traded mixed on the first trading day of the second quarter following a mixed bag of economic data releases. China's official manufacturing PMI unexpectedly edged up to 50.1 in March from February's 49.9, a tad above the 50-mark that that separates growth from contraction. The reading is better than the March HSBC final PMI, also released Wednesday, which showed the nation's vast manufacturing sector in contraction. The 49.6 final print, however, is stronger than the preliminary figure of 49.2.

Japan’s Topix index slipped 1.1%. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.5% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.5%. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was little changed. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index up by 0.84%. SGX Nifty is down by 18 points. Indian markets are likely to open flat due to infrastructure output growth dips to 17-month low. Today is the last day of this week as it will be shut on Thursday and Friday for holidays on account of Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday, respectively.