Today, we expect another cautious start and a lackluster day due to mixed global cues. The slight recovery on Thursday may make one forget that the Sensex and Nifty are down about 2-3% each this month. Some news the market and the industry will hope to hold on dear to is the heftier packets by way of an additional 6% dearness allowance from next month for government employees. Consumption and savings could see improvement. How the rising fiscal deficit would be contained remains a mystery.
The government will release Q3 GDP data today, and consensus forecast is that growth will slip below 7%. Among the other news to watch out for is Tata Steel’s consolidated results. Meanwhile, the Rupee has slipped to a low of 50.69 versus the US dollar.
Though India’s performance in February is better than some other global indices, economic and business conditions continue to be highly challenging. Trading this month was quite choppy with the Nifty gyrating in a range of 300 points. The trend may remain the same in March as well. The bias is likely to remain on the downside, considering the strong headwinds. The jury’s still out on whether the key indices will make new lows or not.
