Good News and Bad News

Our Equity Market is always sensitive to two important factors.

First one is the dollar inflows to our markets. There is always a strong correlation between the FII flows and our market’s direction. Our market believes that dollar weakness brings more inflows to the emerging markets including India.

There was an improvement in US Unemployment data published last week for the first time since April 2008. Unemployment rate fell to 9.4% from the previous month level of 9.5%. Even though the white house officials warned that the unemployment rate may peak at 10%, markets were convinced for the time being that the end to the American recession is nearer now and accordingly, there was a sharp rally in the US markets.

At the same time, there were fresh apprehensions that the Federal Reserve may exit its easy monetary policy sooner than later by hiking its key interest rates. Hence USD strengthened against other major currencies. Euro and GBP registered one of their sharpest falls against USD on the last day of the week.

As said earlier, our markets sensed in advance that the dollar inflows may become scarcer hereafter and duly witnessed a sharp correction in the last two sessions of the week.

The bad news was from our skies. Indian Meteorological Department has said that the rainfall was deficient in 27 out of 36 meteorological divisions of India. Now, there is a real threat of a drought like situation in India this year.

Though, agriculture forms a smaller part in overall GDP of India, majority of Indians is dependent on agriculture in India. Further, scarcer rainfall may badly impact the allied industries of agriculture particularly in rural India.

Failure of crops may add the pressure on prices of food articles which are already at high levels and the supply side hyperinflation is the last thing our market would like to have now.

Thus the combination of above said two factors have brought down the sentiments of our high flying market.

Hereafter, the direction of our market may depend on the FII inflows and the monsoon pattern.

As said in the earlier post, our market (Nifty) failed to break 4700 levels decisively. Now it finds support at around 4430 & 4320 & 4200 levels. It faces resistance at around 4550 & 4580 & 4700 levels.

Wishes for a happy week ahead!