Indian Markets Outlook for the week - 17.03.2014 - 21.03.2014

Indian Markets Outlook for the week - 17.03.2014 - 21.03.2014
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Stepping into the next week after an extended weekend, benchmark indices will closely
watch developments in overseas and domestic markets. On Monday, the market will
remain shut for Holi. Underlying investor sentiment remains positive as National Stock
Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended above the psychologically important 6500-mark
yesterday. While movement in markets across the globe will guide local equities, the key
drivers for the market will be developments on the local political front in the run-up to
the general elections next month. Going ahead, the referendum in Ukraine will be the
immediate event to watch out for. The market will be largely driven by political
developments and that a firm trend will be established only after the election results.

Till then, we expect the market to remain volatile. Yesterday, indices ended marginally
higher, erasing intraday losses, as traders covered short positions in the last hour of trade
ahead of the extended weekend. Nifty ended at 6504.20, up 11.10 or 0.2% from close
Thursday, after moving between 6432.70 and 6518.45. Sensex closed at 21809.80, up
35.19 points or 0.2%. Intraday, it touched a low of 21573.48 and a high of
21843.32. After moving between 12874.36 and 13028.49, the MCX Stock Exchange's
SX40 ended flat at 12995.13, down 6.56 points. In the week ahead, we see Nifty moving
in the range of 6400-6600 points. They have ruled out any sharp movement until the
Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy on Apr 1.

In the monetary policy, Governor Raghuram Rajan is expected to maintain status quo on
interest rates. On the back of this expectation and the recent rally seen in them, stocks in
the banking space are seen consolidating. We have retained our cautious stance on the
banking sector as we feel the demand slowdown will continue amid weak industrial
production, feeble hopes of an early reversal of the interest rate cycle and fiscal prudence
impacting government spending. Among specific scrips, Astrazeneca Pharma India will
be in focus as its board will have a meeting on Saturday to mull the proposed buyback
offer by its parent.

Maruti Suzuki India will be eyed as its board will meet on Saturday to discuss expansion
plans for Gujarat. Stocks of companies that will be included in the government's CPSE
Index may also be in focus on Tuesday, when the index values will be disseminated to
the market on a real-time basis. These stocks include Coal India, GAIL (India), Oil &
Natural Gas Corp, Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Electronics, Oil India, Power Finance Corp,
Rural Electrification Corp, Container Corp of India, and Engineers India.