Expect positive opening at opening bell

Indian equities indices fell on Friday snapping the four week gains, as investors are cautious after dismal Japanese manufacturing data was published; also fresh fall in crude, and the impending domestic Q4 earning season added to the selling pressure. For the week, the Sensex dropped 67.92 points or 0.26% to 25,269.64; while Nifty shed 3.45 points or 0.04% to 7,713.05. While the broader markets witnessed good buying activity, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 1.12% and 1.31% respectively. On sectoral front buying was visible in HealthCare, Metal, Tech, IT and PSUs. On the currency front, Indian rupee appreciated by 0.79% to Rs 66.33 during the last week.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday after better than expected US economic data including the March jobs report were published. Meanwhile, a sharp drop in crude oil prices pulled down the energy sector, capping the gains for the main benchmarks. The Dow Jones industrial average shook off an early loss, and closed up 107 points, or 0.6% quoting 17,792. The S&P 500 index rose 13 points or 0.6%  quoting 2,072. The Nasdaq composite gained 44 points, or 0.9% quoting 4,914. For the week, S&P gained 1.8%; Dow Jones rose 1.6%; and Nasdaq Composite gained 3%.

Crude oil prices dropped in the previous week, after Saudi Arabia commented it will freeze its oil output only if Iran and other major producers follow suit. On Friday, WTI settled down USD 1.55, or 4%, at USD 36.79 a barrel and Brent fell USD 1.66, or 4.1%, to USD 38.67 a barrel. Both lost around 6% for the week, their worst weekly performances in more than a month.

Equity markets closed in the mix. The Stoxx Europe 600 was yanked down 1.3% to end at 333.15 and for a weekly drop of 0.6%. Germany’s DAX 30 slid 1.7% to 9,794.64 and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.4% to 4,322.24. The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to finish at 6,146.05.

Most Asian markets opened higher on Monday morning, following a higher finish in U.S. equities on Friday after solid U.S. jobs data was published. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 index climbed 0.15%, rallying from a one-month low, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.77%. New Zealand stocks gained 0.37% as the Kospi index traded flatly.

On domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for April series traded down 19 points at 7,764. Indian markets are likely to open in green due to positive global cues. Going ahead, markets will watch out for RBI monetary policy meeting on April 5, post which quarterly results will dictate the stock-specific trends.