Market may remain volatile due to F&O expiry today

Indian equities indices surged over 2 per cent on Wednesday to post their best gain in nearly three months after a private weather forecaster Skymet raised the outlook for the 2016 monsoon amid firm global cues. Sentiments further improved after Morgan Stanley upgraded Indian equities to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’. The Sensex ended higher by 575.70 points or 2.28% at 25,881.17 and the Nifty crossed the 7,900-mark and ended up by 186.05 points or 2.4% at 7,934.90. The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE Mid-cap index closed 0.97 % above; while the Small-cap index advanced 0.94%.

U.S. stocks climbed for a second session on Wednesday, as investors took a positive view of increasing oil prices and potentially higher US interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 14.48 points, or 0.7%, to end at 2,090.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 145.46 points, or 0.8%, to close at 17,851.51 and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 33.84 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 4,894.89.

European stocks closed with strong gains Wednesday, after Eurozone's Finance Ministers agreed to extend further bailout loans to Greece as well as provide debt relief. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 1.3% to finish at 348.56. Germany’s DAX 30 finished 1.5% at 10,205.21, while France’s CAC 40 moved up 1.1% to 4,481.64. The U.K’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to end at 6,262.85.

Asian markets opened in the mix on Wednesday after overnight gains in oil prices pushed U.S. stocks higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.29%, while South Korea’s Kospi index traded flat. Benchmarks declined in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Chinese markets traded lower, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.84% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.56%.

On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for May series is trading up by 24 points at 7,967. Indian markets are likely to open flat and going forward may remain volatile due to F&O expiry Thursday. Investors will be keeping an eye on Finolex Cable, Jet Airways, Natco Pharma, ONGC, Power Grid Corporation, Shree Cement, Tata Chemical and VaTech Wabag, results of which are due for release Thursday.