(RTTNews) - A positive close on Wall Street Friday and an encouraging U.S. jobs report released over the weekend may help the Indian market open on a positive note Monday.
The Asian markets are trading higher this morning and the Dow futures are now up by 47 points. However, trading volume remains light across Asia as many markets, including Australia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are closed on Monday.
The European markets will also remain closed on account of Easter holidays. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7% on Thursday before closing for the the Good Friday holiday.
U.S. payroll employment showed a notable increase in the month of March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The report showed that non-farm payroll employment increased by 162,000 jobs in March following a revised decrease of 14,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected employment to increase by about 184,000 jobs compared to the loss of 36,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. While the increase in employment fell short of economist estimates, it still marked the fastest pace of job growth since March of 2007.
Closer home, earnings expectations from corporate India for the financial year 2011 and strong FII buying may also help improve investor sentiment. In March alone, foreign funds have invested about Rs.18,833 crore in stocks, the highest investment in a single month in six months, data shows.
Crude oil prices blasted through resistance and settled at a 17-month high of $84.87 a barrel, up about $1.11 a barrel on Thursday, boosted by data showing improved manufacturing activity in china as well as the euro-zone.
In Asian trading today, light, sweet crude oil for delivery in May are currently rising by about a percent to $85.62 a barrel on speculation global demand will increase as the world economy recovers from recession.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee may continue to strengthen against the greenback on expectations of strong domestic recovery and foreign fund inflows. The rupee closed near an 18-month high of 44.92 against the dollar on Thursday.
Last week, the benchmark 30-share Sensex rose by 0.27%, posting its eighth consecutive weekly gain, helped by a string of positive global data. The 50-share Nifty also advanced by 0.16% and focus on mid-cap and small-cap stocks increased with the mid-cap and small-cap indexes going up by 2.25% and 3.25%, respectively.
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