Markets Close Positive On Rate Cut Hopes

After opening on a negative note, the Indian markets recovered some of their losses on the back of the inflation figures, which provided some ray of hope on the rate cut by RBI in its quarterly meet tomorrow. Inflation for Mar 2012 cooled off marginally by 0.6% to 6.89%, which came against the street's expectations of 6.70%. However, the lower inflation figure provides some room for the RBI to consider a rate cut. Among the sectoral indices, IT and Teck plunged, closing down by 0.49% and 0.65% respectively. On the other hand, the rate-sensitive indices like Auto, Bankex, and Capital Goods closed higher in the positive zone.

The peer Asian markets closed lower, with the 3 major indices, viz. Hang Seng, Nikkei and Shanghai closing lower in the range of 0.09%-1.77%. The markets traded lower over concerns on the weakening European region and the slowdown in China.

The European markets are trading higher in the positive zone, with FTSE, CAC and DAX trading in the range of 0.66%-0.89%. The markets seem to be in consolidation mode after the continuous fall seen over the previous week. Support from the US earnings season also helped the markets to trade higher. However, concerns are still looming around the European countries like Spain and Greece ahead of the bond auction this week.

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading 43 points or 0.34% up at 12831, indicating a positive sentiment in the US markets.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was positive. Out of the 3237 stocks traded on the BSE, 1757 advanced, 1342 declined and 138 remained unchanged.