Markets may open negative; RBI policy to be game changer

Indian benchmark indices got off to a flying start and after a gap of almost 2 years, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s sensitive index, Sensex touched magical figure of 30,000 in the opening trade, but failed to sustain at higher levels and it slipped into the negative territory. Thereafter, indices moved in a tight band. However, buying interest was witnessed and indices rallied to close near day’s high. To close, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, got strengthened by over quarter per cent to settle above the crucial 9,250 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex advanced over fifty points and closed above the psychological 29,950 mark.The European markets ended Wednesday’s session with mixed results. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.53 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.18 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.13 per cent.The U.S stocks lowered on Wednesday, as a late sell-off strike after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed policy makers plan to begin unwinding the central bank’s gigantic balance sheet before the end of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average which had earlier been up about 200 point, slipped 41 point to close at 20,648. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed lower by 34 points at 5,864 and the S&P 500 slipped 7 points to close at 2,353.After a late sell-off in the U.S market overnight, the Asian stocks are opened negative on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunge 264 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 161 points and the Shanghai Composites shed 4 points.At 8:08 am, SGX Nifty Index were trading lower by 55 points at 9232.50, indicating a negative start for Indian equities. Market participants will wait for the outcome of RBI policy and the outcome would be crucial in determining the direction of the markets. The consensus is that the RBI may choose to maintain status quo on the rates front.