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Market is likely to start on a flat to positive note, a day after investors rolled over positions from the near-term March series F&O expiry to April series. The Nifty Futures at the Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) are trading 18 points higher at 6713 levels, indicating a positive start on Friday.
A day earlier the rollover percentage for Nifty futures was lower than the three-month average, rollovers for overall market positions were in line with the average. About 56-57 per cent of Nifty futures positions were rolled over, whereas the overall market rollover was about 71 per cent, according to provisional data. The NSE Nifty closed at 6,641 on Thursday, up 0.6 per cent from its previous close. Analysts are sceptical about the Nifty crossing 6,700 levels.
Sahaj Agrawal, Deputy Vice President- Derivatives Research, Kotak Securities said, “Nifty gained significantly in the March series. An initial upmove in the index was followed by a period of consolidation. The series ended on a positive note with the index testing 6650 levels. Rollover in the index is not very aggressive. This could result in profit booking / consolidation for the April series. Options concentration for April is seen at 6700 call and 6400 put strikes. We remain positive on the markets and advice accumulation on any meaningfull corrections. IT stocks can be accumulated gradually for a turnaround from current levels. We remain positive on select Energy and BFSI stocks amongst others.”
Stocks in U.S. fell on Thursday, erasing most of the S&P 500's year-to-date gain, as banking and technology stocks led the selloff.
The benchmark S&P 500 fell almost 1 percent this week, turned nearly flat for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 4.76 points or 0.03%, to end at 16,264.23 and the S&P 500 was down 3.52 points or 0.19, at 1,849.04. The Nasdaq Composite was down 22.346 points or 0.54 percent, to end at 4,151.232.
At the close, the S&P 500 was up just a fraction of a point for the year.
U.S. economy grew a bit faster than estimated earlier in the fourth quarter, showed data released recently, while new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a near four-month low last week. But contracts to buy previously owned homes fell in February to their lowest level since October 2011.
The United States and the European Union on Wednesday agreed to prepare possibly tougher economic sanctions in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea territory.
