Markets awaiting triggers ahead of polls

After US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank was still on pace to trim interest rates three times this year, markets across the globe breathed easy and rose sharply. Shrugging away initial weakness, Indian market ended with moderate gains during the week ended.

Factors that have dictated the direction of the market include unabated FII selling, subdued guidance of global IT player Accenture, weak rupee and volatility in international crude oil prices. BSE Sensex gained 0.3 percent to close at 72,832 and the Nifty rose 0.3 percent to 22,097 points. Broader markets witnessed mild rebound. Nifty Midcap-100 index was up 1.3 percent and Smallcap-100 index climbed 1.4 percent.

It was a volatile week for the global currency market. The major currencies made some wild swings after the US Federal Reserve meeting. Rupee weakened significantly to Rs83.43 and is poised to make or break level. Surprising fall to Rs84 is not ruled out say observers. Stock exchanges will introduce the T+0 trade settlement for a limited set of securities from March 28, and the market timing will be one continuous session between 9:15 AM and 1:30 PM.

Shriram Finance is replacing UPL in the Nifty. The primary market will end the fiscal 2024 with a bang with as many as 13 IPOs scheduled to be launched next week. Of these, 12 will be in the SME segment, along with a sole mainboard issue of SRM Contractors. The factors expected to sustain the buoyancy of the IPO market in FY2025 include increased domestic capital, improved governance, thriving Indian entrepreneurship, favourable government policies with FDI support, and diligent institutional investors.

Near-term direction of the market will be dictated by expectations over Q4 results, macroeconomic data, Poll predictions of media over General Elections outcome and global cues.