Market Likely To Open Positive

Indian equities indices extended losses for the third trading session and now firmly below the 200 day moving average, and there's a big chance that Nifty will break 8,000, traders say. Persistent selling by foreign investors over taxation worries, delay in passage of reform bills and disappointing earning numbers bogged down markets. Sentiment was also dampened as rupee breached 64-level to fall to a 20-month low, fading chances of a rate cut by the RBI at its meeting next month, traders said.

Continuing its downward spiral, the benchmark BSE Sensex today tumbled by 118 points to settle at 26,599.11 — its lowest closing in 6-1/2 months. The Nifty index fell below the 8,000-level intra-day and ended with a loss of 39.70 points or 0.49% at 8,057.30. The Sensex lost 891.48 points in the last three trading session. The BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.95% and the BSE Small-Cap index lost 1.68%. The decline in the both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

U.S. stocks rose Thursday as investors awaited the key April jobs report and eyed easing in oil prices and bond yields. WTI crude settled down USD 1.99, or 3.3%, at USD 58.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent futures also declined to below USD 66 a barrel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 82.08 points, or 0.5%, to 17924.06. The S&P 500 added 7.85 points, or 0.4%, to 2088 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 25.90 points, or 0.5%, to 4945.54.

European markets showed signs of stabilizing after several sessions of declines Thursday, but investors remained on edge. European shares were lower Thursday but were off their lows as Britons voted in the country's general election. Britain's FTSE 100 index was down 0.7% and France's CAC fell 0.3%. Germany's DAX bucked the trend and rose 0.5%.

A positive lead from Wall Street helped Asian shares to regain some steam on Friday after being heavily sold down over the past two trading sessions. Japan’s Topix index added 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.7%, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index increased 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi index is trading at flat.

China's yuan-denominated exports fell 6.2% in April from the year-ago period while imports fell 16.1%, official data showed on Friday. This brought the trade surplus to 210.21 billion yuan for the month. In U.S. dollar terms, China's exports fell 6.4% from a year earlier while imports slipped 16.2%, leaving a trade surplus of USD 34.1 billion in April. While Chinese exports to the U.S. rose 9.2% in the January to April period in yuan terms, exports to the EU dropped 0.7% and shipments to Japan tumbled 12%, according to China’s customs administration. China's Shanghai Composite up by 1.2% after a snap three-day losing slump, sparked by worries over further government measures curbing speculation and the possibility that new stock listings may sap funds from existing equities. The Shanghai bourse had shaved off almost 8% over the past three sessions.

SGX Nifty is trading up by 72 points. Indian market is likely to open in positive. Ajanta Pharma, Allahabad Bank, Apcotex Industries, Eicher Motors, Fedders Lloyd Corp, Gillette India, HUL, Indian Overseas Bank, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Orient Cement, Punjab National Bank, RSWM and SML ISUZU Ltd would be reporting fourth quarter earnings today.