Market likely to open in green

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets start positive on Monday following positive trend in global markets and development on domestic front kept sentiments upbeat. The BSE benchmark Sensex ended higher by 154 points or 0.57% at 27,395.73 and the Nifty ended up 45.6 points or 0.56% at 8,246.30. The rally in the index was led by gains in Tata Motors, HDFC, ONGC, ICICI Bank and Sesa Sterlite.

Market sentiment also got a boost after reports suggested that the government is planning the ordinance route to make changes to the Land Acquisition Act. The government plans to exclude 13 central laws to clear several infrastructure and public private partnership projects.

The Union Cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act after market hours, adding five more areas which will be exempted from the requisites given in the Act. The five areas were clearance for land for defence purposes, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and housing projects for poor, industrial corridors, and infrastructure or social infrastructure projects, including those in public-private projects in which ownership of land will remain with the government.

Globally, the US stock markets were closed flat in a thinly traded session on yesterday, amid fresh lows on oil prices and earlier pressure on European stocks from Greece's failure to elect a president. The S&P 500 rose by 1.80 points (0.09%), to close at 2,090.57, capping a second straight day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average failed to keep up, dipped 15.48 points (0.09%), to end at 18,038.23. The Nasdaq Composite inched up by 0.05 point to finish at 4,806.91.

Brent crude oil prices turned negative on Monday, falling to USD 59.25 as the market gave up early gains off reports of a fire affecting oil-storage tanks at a terminal in Libya. WTI for February delivery fell USD 1.12 to close at USD 53.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest settlement since May 1, 2009.

European shares closed mixed on Monday, with Greece struck by renewed political uncertainty after its politicians failed to agree on a new president. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1% to 344.27, after falling as much as 0.8%. U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gaining 0.36% to 6,633.51 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 ended the day with a modest increase of 0.05% to 9,927.13 points, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.51% to 4,317.93 points. The Greek’s ATG Index at one point slumped 11%, before then recovering to close down 3.9%, near levels not seen since 2012.

Asian Stock markets got off to a lackluster start on today mooring, as a sharp selloff in commodities and political uncertainty in Greece made investors less willing to take risks in the final trading days of 2014. The Topix slid 0.6% to 1,416, with about two shares falling for each that rose. The measure is poised for an 8.8% gain this year. The Nikkei 225 sank 0.83% to 17,582, headed for an 8.1% annual increase. The Shanghai Composite Index fall 0.5% to 3,152 and The Hang Seng Index slid 0.25%.

SGX Nifty is trading marginally higher with 9 points to 8,327. Today, we expect a positive opening for Indian Equities on account of domestic’s news. Cabinet approving land acquisition ordinance for PPP projects, Infra and realty stocks are likely to be in focus.