Indian Market Seen Subdued Ahead Of Infosys’ Results

 

The Indian market may open on a slightly weak note Tuesday, tracking subdued Asian cues. Today's trading may largely be influenced by Infosys, which is set to unveil its fourth-quarter results before the market opens today. Profit taking ahead of a public holiday tomorrow may also cause some volatility.

On Wall Street, easing fears about a Greek default and upbeat sentiment ahead of the reporting season contributed to a positive close on Monday. All the major averages closed on the upside despite threatening to end lower in late-session dealing. While the Dow advanced 0.1%, the Nasdaq and the S&P edged up around 0.2% each.

However, the Indian ADRs closed mostly lower, with Sterlite Industries, Reddy's Laboratories and ICICI Bank losing between 1.5% and 3.7%.

The Dow futures are now moving down by 18 points. After the closing bell on Wall Street Monday, aluminum producer Alcoa (AA) kick-stared the earning season by posting a $201 million net loss for the first quarter on hefty one-time charges, but said prices and demand are improving for aluminum products.

Crude oil prices slipped for the fourth consecutive session on Monday on demand concerns. Light, sweet crude for delivery in May fell 58 cents to $84.34 a barrel after rallying above $85 earlier in the day.

The Indian rupee also closed down 18 paise against the greenback on Monday, weighed by dollar buying by importers and weaker-than-expected February's industrial output data.

The benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended down around 0.4% each on Monday, as investors held back purchases ahead of IT bellwether Infosys' results. A disappointing industrial output report and fears of a sharp rise in interest rates also dampened sentiment to some extent.