Pre Market Commentary ...

There may be no prosperity at start on the Street as global cues are not supportive. After Spain, now Portugal has announced tough austerity steps to qualify for funds from the massive safety net provided by the EU and IMF. Optimism that the eurozone debt crisis is abating got a lift from a successful bond auction in Italy. Still, the euro fell close to 14-month lows against the dollar. Risk aversion remains elevated with the dollar index climbing above 85. Commodities are under pressure though Gold continues to attract safe haven buying. US stocks erased Wednesday’s big gains amid reports of a widening probe of large Wall Street banks. Asian markets are mostly in red this morning.

It’s a no-brainer that Indian stocks too would fall in sync with the global trend. However, the fall may not be too severe and sentiment could change for the better provided there is no further bad news from the external front. Key indices might also benefit if inflation for April turns out to be lower than anticipated. Consensus is for a drop to ~9.5% from 9.9% in March. On the whole, the market is likely to remain sideways and rangebound. The NSE Nifty will continue to find resistance at 5200 and beyond while support is expected at 5000 in case it drops below 5100. A major break-down in sentiment is not on the cards unless we get some fresh dose of bad news from the overseas markets.