Global fears may spook Indian mkts

Singapore Nifty closed 43.5 pts lower

Indian shares, which have been moving in lockstep with global equities, are likely to come under pressure on Thursday after key indices from Asia to Europe plummeted on Wednesday because of renewed concerns over global growth after Britain's vote to move out of the European Union.

The rupee and bond markets are expected to open flat from Tuesday's close and give up some gains as the day progresses.

European shares dropped into a sea of red on Wednesday, following increasing concerns over the health of European banks. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX were trading below two per cent at 6.30 pm (IST), while the UK's FTSE 100 was down 1.5 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi both closed 1.85 per cent lower, while Hong Kong and Taiwan ended lower by more than one per cent each.

The SGX Nifty was lower on Wednesday by 43.5 points. As a leading indicator for the NSE Nifty, the SGX Nifty is pointing lower for stocks in India. India's equity and bond markets were closed Wednesday on account of Eid Ul-Fitr.

The Dollar Index strengthened on Wednesday marginally, which could put some pressure on the domestic currency. The rupee, which closed at 67.45 a dollar on Tuesday, may remain anchored around the same level and may trade in the range of 67.35-67.50 in the day, said currency dealers.

"Markets are realising that Brexit is more serious than what they thought earlier. Globally, quite a few property funds are closing redemptions, which is concerning," said UR Bhat, managing director, Dalton Capital Advisors (India). "For India, results are the only catalysts for the market. So, the markets will continue to look for cues from the international markets." He cautioned that "risk" may once again become a bad word and overseas investors will, in time, take money off risky assets, leading to some outflows from emerging markets such as India.

However, experts do not think the Nifty will fall below 8,000 levels immediately but may hover around these levels with a negative bias.