Expect market to open on flat to negative

Indian equities market finished the day on a 2-month high note which helped to post its third consecutive weekly gain as foreign funds continued to pump in money amid a firm global cues on dovish stance by the US Federal Reserve. For the week, the Sensex climbed 234.75 points to 24717.99, while the 50-share Nifty index gained 94.15 points to 7,604.35. On broader markets front, the BSE mid-cap and the small-cap indices rose 0.30% each.

During the last week, BSE Healthcare witnessing under selling pressure plunged 4.52%. Lupin got a USFDA warning for its manufacturing facility at Goa whereas Health Ministry has banned 344 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs, including several antibiotics and analgesic (such as codeine-containing cough syrups), as they ‘involve risk to humans’ and safer alternatives are available. It will impact nearly 4-5 per cent of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and (Inventory) losses can go upto Rs 10,000 crore for the industry.

U.S. stocks capped the week with solid gains Friday, extending the major market indexes’ weekly advance for a fifth consecutive week. The Dow rose 120.81 points or 0.7% to 17,602.30. The S&P 500 gained 8.97 points, or 0.4% to 2,049.56, and the Nasdaq composite picked up 20.6 points, or 0.4% to 4,795.65. For the week, the Dow gained more than 2%; the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each climbed 1%.

European stocks closed higher Friday, with an assist from further European Central Bank dovish signals. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% to end at 341.71. Germany’s DAX 30 closed up 0.6% at 9,950.80, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4% to end at 4,462.51. But the U.K’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to end at 6,189.64.

Markets in Asia opened mixed on Monday as a retreat in oil prices left investors in a light mood ahead in the absence of major economic data from the U.S. and China and with many markets off for Good Friday. Japan closed for a holiday. The South Korean Kospi gave up early gains to trade 0.20% lower while New Zealand up slightly and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.56%. Chinese markets traded up, with the Shanghai composite higher by 2.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.2%.

While on domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for March series traded down 19 points at 7,593. Indian markets are likely to open flat to negative. Going forward, the market is expected to trade within a range but the movement will be influenced by the expectations of an RBI rate cut. Markets will remain closed on Thursday (Mar 24) and Friday (Mar 25) on account of Holi and Good Friday.