The fresh week is likely to begin on a flat note for domestic markets, amid mixed global cues. According to analysts, as this week is a curtailed one, with Thursday (Mahavir Jayanthi & Dr Ambedkar Jayanthi) and Friday (Good Friday) being closed, activities will remain muted.
SGX Nifty at 17,788 indicates that Nifty is likely to open flat, as Nifty futures on Friday closed at 17,878.75 on the NSE. Equities across Asian-Pacific, except Australia, are down around 0.5 per cent in an early deal on Monday on reports of fresh restrictions by the Chinese authorities.
Results to guide future trends
Q4 FY22 earnings season will kick off from this and will set the tone for market direction going forward, said analysts. TCS will be first among the major company to declare its quarterly results later today.
Indices are expected to open on a negative note as suggested by trends on SGX Nifty, said Mohit Nigam, Head-PMS, Hem Securities. US stock markets ended on a mixed note on Friday as bank shares gained and investors grappled with how best to deal with an economy that could skid as the Federal Reserve moves to aggressively tackle inflation, he added.
Headwinds
Analysts said headwinds such as geopolitical tension, inflation, interest rate hike, and unrest in neighbours such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka will keep the market men on the edge.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said, "Q4 results season will start from Monday and the market’s focus will shift to individual stocks. The RBI has turned mildly hawkish and this could impact the valuations in the markets over time."
Markets will continue to remain jittery as investors try to gauge the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, whilst simultaneously mulling over the possibility of the US Fed raising interest rates even further to curb inflation, said Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.
Additionally, rising oil and commodity prices are threatening supply-chain and logistics by disrupting the shipping and air freight, he said adding, "while the world awaits the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, over near-term, devastation due to the war and additional sanctions on the Russian exports would have menacing effects on global and Indian equities."