Indian Market Likely To Open Negative

Indian equities indices slipped on Friday, reacting to the fears that rate cut cycle may get stopped due to rise in CPI inflation and logged its biggest weekly drop in 2015, reversing the gaining trend of the last 3 weeks. The Sensex fell 945.65 points or 3.21% to settle at 28,503.30 and the Nifty dropped 290 points or 3.24% to settle at 8,647.75. The news of US unemployment data also sent discouraging vibes in the Indian market and also frightened by the speculation that US Fed will lift rates from near-zero in June as an earlier than expected. The BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap index declined by more than 2% in a last week, however both these indices was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

The stock market was hit hard on Friday, capping a third week of declines as investors reacted to a steep drop in oil prices to below USD 46 a barrel after data showed supply levels continue to rise and a jump in the value of the dollar. The S&P 500 closed 12.55 points or 0.6%, lower at 2,053 and lost 0.9% over the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 145.91 points, or 0.8%, to 17,749.31 and recorded a 0.6% loss over the week. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 21.53 points, or 0.4%, at 4,871.76 and lost 1.1% over the week.

WTI crude fell USD2.21 to close at USD44.84 a barrel in New York. Oil is now within 40 cents of its low for the year and its lowest level in six years, after a drop of 10% last week. Brent crude fell USD2.41 to close at USD54.67 a barrel in London. The US dollar continued its advance against other major currencies. The euro declined 1.3% to USD1.0486. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a group of other currencies, increased 0.8% on Friday and is up 6.4% over the last month.

The US Fed meets on March 17 and 18 will be a major trigger for the Indian market. This meeting will provide the trajectory of the US economy, which will also reveal as to when the rate hike might take place.

European equities were set for a sixth straight week of gains on Friday, fuelled by a slide in the euro as the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan kept euro zone yields near record lows. The Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% and the DAX finished higher by 3% in last week. France’s CAC close first time above 5,000 since May 2008. Russia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 14% from 15%.

The Asian market swung between gains and losses as investors await a Federal Reserve meeting this week for an indication of when U.S. interest rates will be raised. Japan's Nikkei share currently up by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite Index opens in positive by 1% and the Hang Seng Index trading at flat.

SGX Nifty is trading in red and down by 22 points. Indian market may expect to open in negative and trading this week is expected to be volatile. The data on WPI release on today and the fourth-nightly fuel price review by the three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) will be the major domestic triggers for the Indian markets in this week. Corporate advance tax payment for the fourth and final installment which is due by Sunday, 15 March 2015, could provide clues on Q4 March 2015 corporate earnings. The first session of the parliament in 2015 will end on March 20 and will reconvene after a break of one month.