Market Likely To Gap Down Open

Indian stock markets finished lower for the third straight session and slid for the second consecutive week on account of some selling pressure by foreign institutional investors amid uncertainty on the political front, weak rupee and mixed quarterly results. During the week, Sensex and Nifty lost 391 points or 1.47% and 111.50 points or 1.38% to close at 26,265.24 and 7954.30, respectively, on November 6. Selling pressure was also seen in broader markets, with the BSE Mid-cap down 2.3% and the small-cap losing 2.96% during the week. The exit polls are not really indicating a very positive bias for the BJP.

The rupee lost some of its sheen against the dollar to over five-week low of 65.87 (intra-day) on sustained capital outflows, which hit market sentiment. During the week, rupee slid 0.87% to 65.791 on November 6.

U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday, but held solid gains for the week after a better-than-expected October jobs report increased confidence in the likelihood of a December rate hike. The S&P 500 ended little-changed at 2,099.20 and posted a nearly 1% weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 46.90 points, or 0.3%, at 17,910.33. The blue-chip gauge finished 1.4% higher for the week. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 19.38 points, or 0.4%, to close at 5,147.12, securing a weekly gain of 1.9%.

Crude prices went lower again Friday, lifting their weekly loss to almost 5%, after a US jobs number beat expectations, making the chance of Fed rate rise in December more likely, which pushed the dollar higher. December WTI settled at USD 44.29 a barrel, down 91 cents, or 2%. For the week, WTI were lower about 4.9% and Brent futures dropped USD 2.08, or 4.32%, the third weekly loss over the past four.

European stocks closed higher Friday and nabbed a weekly gain, with a dive by the euro after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report giving a boost to exporters. After losing ground earlier in the session, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% to end at 379.95. The index achieved a weekly rise of 1.2%. Germany’s DAX up 0.9%, France’s CAC-40 gaining 0.1% and Britain’s FTSE 100 down 0.2% on Friday.

Asian stocks kicked off the new trading week mixed, mirroring the handover from Wall Street amid weakening commodity prices. The Nikkei bucked the trend and gained 2.06% after the yen weakened significantly against the dollar. Share markets in China opened higher on Monday, with the key Shanghai Composite index elevating nearly 2%. China’s October exports fell 6.9% from a year ago, dropping for a fourth month, while imports slipped 18.8%, leaving the country with a record high trade surplus of USD 61.64 billion, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.30%. New Zealand’s S&P NZX 50 Index traded at flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.4%.

A SGX CNX Nifty Index future for November delivery was up 143 points at 7,832. Indian market is likely to 100 points gap down open on disappointment over NDA's loss in the recent Bihar Assembly elections and tracking SGX Nifty. BJP’s big setback in Bihar elections could be a “stumbling block” to the central government’s reform agenda.