Markets likely to open flat tracking SGX Nifty

Indian equities market continue to languish in negative territory, due to worries over stricter participatory notes (P-Notes) norms and also tracking nervousness in global peers after Fed minutes indicated rate hike in June policy. The Sensex fell 304.89 points or 1.19% to 25399.72 and the Nifty breached 7800 level, down 86.75 points or 1.10% to 7783.40. The broader markets too showed selling pressure with the BSE Mid-cap index dipping by 1.12% and Small-cap by 1.01%. Among other factors, the rupee depreciated by 37 paise to 67.34 against the dollar during the day.

U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday on mounting fears that the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate hike could come as early as June. The S&P 500 fell 7.59 points, or 0.4%, to 2,040.04 and turned negative for the year. The Dow industrials fell 91.22 points, or 0.5%, to 17,435.40. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 26.59 points, or 0.6%, to 4,712.53.

Crude oil price fall has come after a rally in recent sessions fueled by production outages in Africa and Canada and production declines across the globe that have propelled expectations of shrinking the global oversupply. WTI crude settled down 3 cents, or 0.06% at USD 48.16 a barrel, after trading as low as USD 46.73. A settlement around this level would be the lowest since May 13. Brent crude fell USD 1.31, or 2.7%, to USD 47.62 a barrel.

European stocks finished lower on Thursday after the Federal Reserve suggested that an interest rate increase was possible next month if the U.S. economic data continues to be strong. The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 1.1% to close at 333.91, finishing at the lowest level in a week. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index dropped 1.8% to 6,053.35, with miners leading the way lower. Germany’s DAX lost 1.5% to 9,795.89, while France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.9% to 4,282.54.

Asian markets are wavering between gains and losses on Friday as comments from a key Federal Reserve official led to increased betting on the Fed hiking interest rates as early as next month. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.22%, leaving it up 1.4% this week. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.37% with the Kospi index in Seoul rallying 0.11%.  China’s Shanghai composite has erased initial losses and is trading flat.

On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for May series is trading down by 9 points at 7,789. Indian markets are likely to open flat tracking SGX Nifty. Investors will be keeping an eye on Britannia, Cox&Kings, ITC, Justdial and Whirlpool, results of which are due for release today.