Market Likely To Open Higher Due To Positive Global Cues

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 506.28 points higher on Friday to post its biggest daily gain in four months on value-buying, after the government set up a panel to suggest ways to resolve a tax dispute with foreign investors. The sensex closed with a small weekly rise of 94.08 points, or 0.35% to end at 27,105.39. Otherwise in the last straight three weeks, it had crashed 1,868.07 points, or 6.47%. Similarly, the Nifty settling the week better at 8,191.50, a modest gain of 10.00 points, or 0.12%. BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices closed down 1.73% and 1.05%, respectively, thus underperforming the Sensex.

U.S. stocks soared on Friday which helped the S&P 500 and Dow end the turbulent week with modest gains. The S&P 500 closed 28.09 points, or 1.4%, higher at 2,116.09 and gained 0.4% over the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 267.05 points, or 1.5%, to 18,191.11 and finished the week 0.9% higher. The Nasdaq Composite ended the session 58 points, or 1.2%, higher at 5,003.55 and finished the week roughly where it started.

Sentiment was lifted on Friday by nonfarm-payrolls data, which pointed to a pace of employment growth that was healthy enough to suggest that the economy may be on solid footing, but not so much as to quicken the first Federal Reserve rate hike. The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.4%, largely in line with expectations.

During the last week ended May 8, WTI crude oil prices booked an eighth straight week of gains, and global crude oil prices booked a loss, breaking the streak of seven weeks of gains. The gain in the US crude oil prices was largely driven by expectations that demand had finally started exceeding supply in the country. WTI Crude Oil front month futures traded up by a modest 0.41%, ending the week at USD 59.39. Brent Crude Oil front month futures, on the other hand, reported a 1.61% loss during the week, ending the week at USD 65.39 per barrel. The contract reached a high of $69.63 per barrel during the week, the highest point reached by the contract since December last year.

European stocks leapt Friday, powered by British shares, as the Conservative Party unexpectedly swept into power after the U.K. general election. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.9% on Friday to 400.16 closing near its intraday high of 400.18 and finished the week 1.4% higher. The DAX 30 DAX rose 2.7% to 11,709.73, and France’s CAC 40 gained 2.5% to 5,090.39 on Friday. The DAX recorded a weekly gain of 2.2%, while France’s CAC showed a weekly gain of about 0.9%, after a rough week. The FTSE 100 closed 160 points, or 2.3%, higher at 7,046.82, led by utilities and financial stocks.

Asian equities opened higher on Monday, taking heart from an impressive lead from Wall Street and China rolling out its third interest rate cut on Sunday since November. China's Shanghai Composite leaped 0.9% from the get-go, extending a rebound that began last Friday, spurred by the country's latest policy support measures. Hang Seng index up by 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 steadied at a seven-day high in early trade by 1.3%.

SGX Nifty is trading up by 56 points. Indian market is likely to open higher on account of positive global cues. Adani Power, Bank of Baroda, Eveready Industries, Havells, OCL, Orient paper, SRF, and TajGVK would be reporting fourth quarter earnings today.