Market may continue to rally

Indian equities indices gained for the third straight day on Thursday, the expiry day for May Nifty derivative contracts. The improvement in corporate earnings, forecast of a strong monsoon and oil advancing to USD 50 a barrel for the first time this year as US industry data showed a decline in stockpiles, are the factors that have triggered gains over the past two sessions. The G7 summit in Japan to take stock of the global economy also infused a sense of confidence. The Sensex ended higher by 485.51 points or 1.88% at 26,366.68 and the Nifty ended up 134.75 points or 1.7% at 8,069.65. The broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 1% and 0.9%, respectively.

U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday, after two days of strong gains as investors moved cautiously ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen; and also as oil pared gains after hitting USD 50 a barrel for the first time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 23.22 points, or 0.1%, to close at 17,828.29, while the S&P 500 fell 0.44 or 0.02% to 2,090.10. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, inched up 6.88 or 0.14% to 4,901.77.

European stocks logged a modest gain Thursday, after a choppy session in which investors tried to make sense of the fluctuating oil price. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.1% to 348.91. Germany’s DAX 30 picked up 0.7% at 10,272.71, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7% to 4,512.64. The U.K’s FTSE 100 barely finished in positive territory, up less than 0.1% at 6,265.65.

Crude oil prices ended slightly lower Thursday after briefly rising above USD 50 a barrel in intraday trading. Brent crude oil was down 35 cents at USD 49.40. WTI crude futures settled down 0.16% or 8 cents, at USD 49.48 a barrel.

Asian markets opened higher on the final trading day of the week. Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.44% as Japan's consumer prices fell. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.44%, while the S&P/NZX 50 Index in New Zealand climbed 0.52%. The Kospi index in Seoul advanced 0.24% as well, trimming its fourth straight weekly decline of 1%. China’s Shanghai composite index traded flat.

On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for May series is trading up by 20 points at 8,101. Indian markets are likely to open in green. Investors will be keeping an eye on SBI, HPCL, IOC, Oil India, DLF, Crompton Greaves, BHEL, BEML, Bharat Electronics, PVR, Thomas Cook, Alkem Laboratories, Dr Lal Path Labs, Sudarshan Chemical and  Venky's (India), results of which are due for release Friday.