Positive start seen ahead of key macros

Indian shares are likely to open on a positive note as the global cues look supportive with SGX Nifty trading 34 points higher.

Events for the day:

  • Bloomberg Feb. India Economic Survey

  • Fiscal Deficit INR Crore

Headlines for the day:

  • BEL-Rolta consortium bags defence contract worth Rs50,000 cr

  • Bharti Airtel raises Rs1,925 cr from stake sale in tower unit

  • Power Grid seeks $ 500 million loan from World Bank

Indian Indices:

Indian shares are likely to open on a positive note as the global cues look supportive with SGX Nifty trading 34 points higher.

On economic front, the global rating agency Standard & Poor’s increased India’s growth forecasts going forward to reflect a recent change in how gross domestic product is calculated by the government, and said the economy should be a ‘bright spot’ in Asia.

Standard & Poor’s increased its GDP growth forecast for India to 7.9% from 6.2% for the financial year 2015-16, on the back of higher investments and subdued oil prices.

Indian shares fell 1% on Thursday, led by profit-taking in software stocks such as Infosys Ltd, while caution also prevailed on expiry of derivative contracts and federal budget on Saturday. The S&P BSE Se nsex and CNX Nifty ended 0.90%-0.95% higher each.

Suresh Prabhu in Rail Budget vowed to make the Indian Railways as the prime economic driver, improvement in passenger safety and amenities along with system improvement and transparency. However, there was not a single new train announced even as he decided to be passenger fare rates unchanged.

On Thursday (February 26, 2014), the 30-share Se nsex and the 50-share Nifty  ended down 261 points at 28,747 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 83 points at 8,684.

Global Indices:

Japanese stocks crawled to a fresh 15-year peak on Friday after the dollar surged against the yen as upbeat U.S. data flipped expectations back in favour of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The Nasdaq resumed its recent advance on Thursday after deal news in the technology sector, while the Dow and S&P 500 dipped as energy shares sank with oil prices.

Major European share indexes climbed to new multi-year highs on Thursday, with the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev leading the food and beverages sector higher after announcing a sharp dividend hike and a share buyback plan.