'RBI policy, Q4 numbers are next triggers'

Gaurav Dua, Head Research, Sharekhan talks to Peter Noronha on the impact of Budget and likely triggers going ahead.

With the Budget behind us, where are the markets headed from here? What are the next triggers?

The Union Budget has cheered the markets and turned the bias positive. However, we expect markets to remain in the broad range of 4700-5300 Nifty levels and consolidate. Going ahead, the key events in India are the expected RBI action in the forthcoming policy review in April (especially in the backdrop of inflationary trends and improving economic data) and the fourth quarter results. Markets have remain range-bound since Oct 2009 as the Q2 & Q3 quarterly results failed to exceed street expectations and push further upgrades in earnings estimates.

Which sectors will benefit from the Budget proposals over the medium term?

In addition to addressing fiscal consolidation issues, the Budget was progressive in terms of enhanced allocation on infrastructure developments (positive for investment cycle) and boost consumption (through expansion of tax slabs for individual tax payers). Thus, it was positive for domestic driven sectors such as hotels, consumer goods (excluding ITC), infrastructure and capital goods sectors.

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