All eyes on Tuesday, as interest rate cut issue calls for attention

Markets saw a volatile week gone by and if it were not for a super Friday rally markets would have been negative for the week The BSE SENSEX gained 23475 points or 095 per cent to close at 2495274 points The NSE INDEX gained 9415 points or 125 per cent to close at 760435 points Incidentally the rise on Friday was 275 points on the SENSEX and 92 points on the NIFTY The above illustrates that but for Friday markets were flat to marginally negative The broader indices saw the BSE100 BSE200 and BSE500 rise 108 per cent 104 per cent and 098 per cent respectively while BSE MIDCAP rose 029 per cent and BSE SMALLCAP 030 per centIt is a short trading window as Holi comes up this week Exercise caution so as not to end up in the red PicPTIThe sectoral gainers were led by BSE BANKEX up 35 per cent followed by BSE IT 322 per cent and BSE TECH 274 per cent The losers were led by BSE HEALTHCARE down 452 per cent followed by BSECON DUR 292 per cent and BSE METAL 052 per cent In individual stocks the top gainer was BHEL up 936 per cent followed by ICICI Bank 774 per cent and SBI 593 per cent In other stocks the top gainer was GAIL at 1686 per cent followed by Tech Mahindra 761 per cent On the losing side were Lupin Labs down 1609 per cent followed by Sun Pharma 599 per cent and HDFC 267 per centNo stopping bull runFIIs continue to remain bullish and have been buying since the beginning of March on all days except one when they were sellers of a very small amount The Dow Jones had a decent week gaining 38907 points to close at 1760238 points This happened even though the Fed decided not to raise rates at their meeting held on Tuesday and Wednesday last week What is worrisome is that the US economy is not growing as expected In the shorter term rates not being raised was a positive The Indian rupee strengthened 54 paisa or 081 per cent to close at Rs 6650There is one issue from Bharat Wire Ropes currently on The company is seeking to raise Rs 70 crore in a price band of Rs 4045 for setting up a new 66000 tons integrated wire and wire ropes manufacturing facility at Chalisgaon Maharashtra The issue closes on Tuesday March 22The second issue is from Infibeam Incorporation Limited which is in the etailing business It would be the first company of its kind to be listed and would give people an idea of valuations of this sector Infibeam is looking to raise Rs 450 crore in a price band of Rs 360432 The company is an integrated Ecommerce business model with large merchant and customer baseThe issue from HCG closed on Friday and was subscribed 156 times The company runs 14 oncology centres and had raised money for setting up 12 more centres The primary markets are showing early signs of revival and pricing would continue to be the keyThe time is shortThe week has a trading holiday on Thursday March 24 for Holi This would affect volumes on Friday which would then become an extended holiday It would be by and large a three day week with positions being reduced on Wednesday midway because of the long weekendMarkets have had a good run up since budget and the current March series of NIFTY is up 53960 points or 774 per cent This gives bulls an upper hand and an opportunity to force short covering by bears at will Surrendering some gains is likely but domination may continueThe first part of the budget session of Parliament ended with high dram on the passing of AADHAA bill The Rajya Sabha recommended five changes which were rejected by the Lok Sabha and passed There is bitter acrimony between the ruling party and the opposition we will know how this affects GST in the second part of the budget sessionIt is dividend time on Dalal Street and companies are declaring them left right and centre It appears that 201617 may actually find companies skipping dividends or becoming miserly in their declaration PSU companies are also declaring dividends and many of them are declaring their second interim dividend in a span of less than 1530 days PSU companies typically based on their expected earnings performance declare an interim dividend in February each year and then top up the same with a final dividend when they announce their annual results for the year This year the customary interim was announced as scheduled but an unexpected second dividend is being announced courtesy the change in the budget of additional tax being paid by the recipient in case the dividend in the year so received exceeds Rs 10 lakhsMarkets will continue to be choppy The focus is on RBI governor for an interest rate cut on Tuesday April 5 There is always a possibility that he may also do the same outside the policy earlier and remove speculation about his action Trade cautiously Happy Holi to all readersDisclaimer No financial information whatsoever published anywhere in this newspaper should be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities or as advice to do so in any way whatsoever All matter published here is for educational and information purposes only and under no circumstances should be used for actual trading or making investment decisions Readers must consult a qualified financial advisor prior to making any actual investment or trading decisions based on information published here Any reader taking decisions based on any information published here does so entirely at his or her risk