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Fundamentals June 7, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened in the red following negative opening trades in the SGX Nifty and across major Asian bourses.The US markets continued to experience volatility over the course of the trading session on Thursday before ending the day mostly higher. The volatility was due to uncertainty ahead of the release of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report on Friday. The report could have a substantial impact on the near-term outlook for both the economy and the Federal Reserve's stimulus program as Fed officials have suggested that signs of sustained improvement in the labor market could lead the central bank to scale back its asset purchase program within the next few meetings. Meanwhile, the European markets finished to the downside on Thursday, after the ECB and BoE left their respective interest rates unchanged. Indian markets edged lower on Thursday, mirroring weak global cues as investors were reluctant to make big bets ahead of Friday's al...

Fundamentals June 5, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened on o negative note tracking weak cues from SGX Nifty and most of the Asian indices on concerns that the Federal Reserve will scale back stimulus efforts as the U.S. economy improves. The US markets experienced continued volatility over the course of the trading session on Tuesday before ending the day mostly lower. The lower close on Wall Street came as traders continued to express concerns about the timing of the Fed's plan to scale back its stimulus program. The markets were concerned after recent comments from some Fed officials that the central bank may taper the program within the next meetings. While traders largely shrugged off a report on the US trade deficit, anxiety ahead of the release of some more closely watched data later in the week generated some negative sentiment.Meanwhile, Indian shares erased early gains to end modestly lower on Tuesday, with strength in the rupee and renewe...

Fundamentals June 4, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened in the red tracking negative cues from the SGX Nifty and mixed opening in Asian markets.US markets ended Monday's trading mostly higher, although stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day due to mixed reaction to a pair of disappointing economic reports. The fluctuations seen over the course of the session came as the disappointing manufacturing data raised concerns about the economic outlook but also eased worries about outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program. The Fed has indicated that it will not start scaling back its stimulus program until the data points to sustained economic growth and improvement in the labor market. Meanwhile, the European markets fell on Monday after manufacturing data from China and the United States came in weaker than anticipated. However, manufacturing data from Europe was better than expected. Meanwhile, Indian shares ended lower weighed down by weak global cues and disap...

Fundamentals June 3, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened in the red today tracking negative opening trades in the SGX Nifty and most of Asian markets. Asian markets are trading lower, after improving U.S. economic data added to concern the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus. US markets moved sharply lower in the latter part of the trading day on Friday. The sell-off seen in late-day trading came as a pair of economic reports added to recent concerns that the Federal Reserve could scale back its stimulus program within the next few meetings. Major European markets too ended in negative territory on Friday, due to some weaker than expected economic data from Europe. Eurozone unemployment rate climbed to a new record high, while German retail sales unexpectedly fell. Meanwhile, Indian markets fell sharply on Friday, as RBI Governor’s hawkish comments on inflation, current account deficit and commodity price movements dented hopes for an interest-rate cut at the RBI’s June 17 policy mee...

Fundamentals May 31, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened flat to positive tracking flat in SGX Nifty while the other Asian markets are trading positive. US markets ended Thursday's trading mostly higher, partly offsetting the weakness  that was seen in the previous session. The strength on Wall Street came on the heels of the release of a batch of economic data that was though weaker than expected but was not bad enough to raise serious concerns about the economic outlook. Report released by the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims  climbed to 354,000 in the week ended May 25th from the previous week's revised figure of 344,000. A separate report from commerce department said that GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.4%in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 2.5% growth. The European markets pared their gains in the afternoon impacted by the unexpected downward revision of the U.S. GDP, but largely finished in the green on Thursday. Meanwhile, Indian shar...

Fundamentals May 30, 2013

Nik's Diary The Indian markets opened flat to negative tracking negative opening in most of the Asian markets and SGX Nifty.US markets were under pressure in early trading on Wednesday and stocks remained firmly in negative territory throughout the session. Renewed concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program weighed on the markets. The major averages ended the day in the red but well off their lows for the session. Meanwhile the European markets ended Wednesday's session solidly in negative territory, reversing the gains of the previous session. The strong housing and consumer confidence data released by the U.S. yesterday gave rise to concerns that the Federal Reserve may scale down the stimulus program in the coming months. Meanwhile, Indian shares fell modestly on Wednesday as investors took some profits off the table following three days of gains, awaiting the expiry of near month F&O contracts on Thursday and the release of March-qua...

Fundamentals May 29, 2013

Nik's Diary  The Indian markets opened flat tracking marginally negative opening in most of the Asian markets and SGX Nifty. US markets pulled back off after moving sharply higher in early trading but managed to end the day in positive territory. The positive sentiment was led by release of the report from the Conference Board which reported surge in consumer confidence index to 76.2 in May (five-year high) from an upwardly revised 69.0 in April. The pullback off the highs may have reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program, as Fed officials have indicated that upbeat data may lead the central bank to taper the program within the next few meetings. European markets ended the day in green reacting positively to the release of better than expected U.S. economic data. Meanwhile, Indian shares ended higher for a third consecutive session on Tuesday following the firm global cues. Adding to the positive sentiment, Prime Min...