Market to open mildly higher on new series

The markets are likely to open with limited upside on Friday, which will also see the beginning of May derivative contracts on the NSE. With overseas cues cautiously positive, SGX Nifty at 17,645 is moderately up.

Volatile US stocks closed in the green overnight. Most Asian stocks are also up in early deals on Friday.

“Stocks are softening on rising fears that the Fed is going to send this economy into recession. Geopolitical risks clearly remain on the table between the US and Russia/ China, and that should keep inflation risks elevated over the next few months. ​ Rate traders are coming to the agreement that the Fed will raise rates by 25bps in March and May, with a growing chance that will also happen in June,” said Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst, The Americas OANDA.

Amid gloom all around, traders rolled over Nifty and Bank Nifty futures to the March series on Thursday -- the expiry day of February contracts. According to brokerages, the Nifty roll-over dipped 73 per cent as against last month’s nearly 79 per cent and three-month average of 76 per cent. Bank Nifty roll-over was in excess of 80 per cent, but marginally lower than the three-month average, they said.

“The FII’s ‘Long Short Ratio’ in the index futures segments is around 25 per cent and it would be crucial to see if they cover their shorts before expiry or roll-over their positions,” said Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com.

“While the banking space dragged the markets lower, the broader markets witnessed stock specific buying interest, which led to some relative outperformance in the Nifty Midcap index. Hence, traders are advised to look for stock specific opportunities from a near-term perspective,” he added.

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