Market Likely To Open Flat To Positive

After a consolidation, the market staged strong performance Wednesday on hopes lower crude oil prices would help India control its twin deficits and inflation, thereby creating headroom for the central bank to ease borrowing costs further. The Sensex surged by 265 points to reclaim the 28,000-level at 8,524, while Nifty settled at 8,523.80 and its highest closing in nearly three months. The broader markets underperformed benchmarks, rising marginally.

Monsoon slowed down to 33% below normal in July, said DS Pai of IMD. He expects it to pick up only post July 23. Weak monsoon has hurt sowing in part of Gujarat, Maharashtra and northern part of Karnataka, said Pai.

India’s trade deficit in June remained steady at USD 10.83 billion, up 4% compared to USD 10.41 billion in May. Exports continued to disappoint on a combination of weak global demand and low crude prices. For April-June, trade deficit stood at USD 32.23 billion, down compared to USD 33.08 during the same period last year.

The U.S. stock market edged lower Wednesday, ending a four-day rally, as investors monitored developments in Greece ahead of a parliamentary vote on a proposed bailout deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 3.41 points at 18,050.17. The S&P 500 Index declined 1.55 points to close at 2,107.40. The Nasdaq Composite shed 5.95 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,098.94. The Federal Reserve remains on track to raise rates this year—as long as the economy evolves as expected, Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday.

European stock markets and the euro rose Wednesday as Greece's parliament prepared for a key vote on its new bailout deal. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP turned up 0.4% to close at 400.03. In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 rose 0.2% to end at 11,539.66, and in Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.3% to finish at 5,047.24. Spain’s IBEX 35 climbed 0.7% to close at 11,335.70, while Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 1.3% to 23,392.75. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 meanwhile, was unchanged at 6,753.75.

Crude oil is getting crushed. WTI crude for August delivery settled down USD 1.63, or 3.1%, at USD 51.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since April 9. Brent crude fell USD 1.46, or 2.5%, to USD 57.05 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Asian equities were mixed on Thursday as Chinese market volatility offset optimism over the Greek parliament's approval of the new bailout agreement. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 index rose 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.38%. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 0.34%. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.30%. The Shanghai Composite declined 0.2%.

SGX CNX Nifty traded at flat. Indian markets likely to open flat to positive. Cyient, D B Corp, Delta Corp, Fag Bearings, Man Industries, Mastek and Mindtree would be reporting third quarter earnings today.