Indian Market May Open Lower On New Year 2015

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets ended in positive after muted start in the morning yesterday, supported by gains in banks, consumer durable, metal, oil & gas and metal stocks. The Sensex ended up 93 points at 27,497 and the Nifty ended up 31 points to close at 8,279. The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by 1% each.

The Sensex ended 6,329 points or 30% higher, while the Nifty closed 1,979 points or 31% higher in the calendar year 2014 on the hopes that the Narendra Modi government will change India's fortunes and the government will revive growth and take the economy to double digit growth. The key indices gaining for the third straight year to register their best performance since 2009.

The rise in benchmarks also brought retail investors to the market. Mutual funds pumped in more than Rs 23,500 crore in domestic equities in 2014 against net withdrawals of over Rs 21,000 crore in 2013. The U.S. stock market ended another solid year 2014 with moderate declines on yesterday. The S&P 500 was down 21 points on the day (1.03%) ending the year at 2,058. The Dow lost 160 points (0.89%), to 17,823. The Nasdaq fell 41 points (0.87%), to 4,736. U.S. stocks fell on yesterday as crude oil prices continued their descent and what that might mean for profits of the energy sector. The S&Poor 500 rose 11.4% for 2014. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 7% and the Nasdaq composite rose 13%. Its third straight year of double digit percentage gains for the first time since the late 1990s.

Most of Europe's stock markets were either shut or only trading for half a day. London's benchmark FTSE 100 gained 0.29% to 6,566 and down 2.7% for the year. Trading on Frankfurt's DAX 30 ended for the year on Tuesday, with the index rising by a modest 2.65 percent in 2014 amid sluggish growth in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. France's CAC-40 advanced 0.6% while Spain's Ibex was flat. The Greek’s ATG Index fell for a fourth straight session, taking their yearly loss to nearly 30%. The country is heading for an early general election on Jan. 25, which radical leftist party Syriza is tipped to win.

Indian Infrastructure output: The output of eight crucial industries grew by a five month high of 6.7% in November, marginally higher than 6.3% in the previous month. The output had risen 3.2% in November last year. The index has a near 40% weight in the index of industrial production. Coal, refinery products, electricity and cement production registered a growth of 14.5%, 8.1%, 10.2% and 11.3%, respectively in November. However, crude oil, natural gas and fertiliser were in the negative zone.

Most of the Asian markets are closed today on account of New Year holiday. SGX Nifty is trading in red with 30.50 points lower to 8,328. Today, on the first trading session of 2015, we expect a weak opening for Indian Equities.