Markets may open lower on Europe debt concerns

The Indian markets may begin a new week on a negative note led by losses in the Asian region as Europe debt jitters overshadowed signs of vigor in the US economy.

Headlines for the day:

Mundra UMPP's first 800MW unit starts production.

FIIs invest Rs6,500 crore in first week of New Year.

Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) may trim fleet size in difficult times.

NTPC plans to foray into power distribution.

Real estate firms drop overseas plans, to stay grounded in India.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) to rope in Boston Consulting Group for revamping operations.

Gail to replace JP Associates in Sensex from today

Events for the day

Goodwill Hospital & Research Centre IPO closes today



Indian indices

Worries over Europe intensified with a debt rating downgrade to junk status for Hungary and a report in German magazine Der Spiegel that the International Monetary Fund was losing confidence in Greece's ability to clean up its public finances. The Indian markets may begin a new week on a negative note led by losses in the Asian region as Europe debt jitters overshadowed signs of vigor in the US economy.

The markets are likely to remain volatile this week as earnings season will start with the Infosys results and also IIP data is going to release on January 12, 2012. Investor focus may also remain on Europe.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities

The FIIs have been net buyers of the Indian stocks to the tune of Rs549.30 crore on January 06, 2012. The domestic investors have sold Indian stocks worth a net of Rs57.90 crore on January 05, 2012. The data is as per SEBI website.

Global signals

The European shares ended little changed on Friday (January 06, 2012), with many investors happy to cash in on three weeks of gains ahead of the start of the US fourth-quarter earnings season on Monday.

The US stocks finished mixed to lower on Friday as investors brushed off stronger-than-expected jobs figures and sold their equities for profits.

The Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday (January 9, 2012) as continued concerns over the outlook for Europe overshadowed better-than-expected US jobs data on Friday, and pushed the euro to fresh lows against the US dollar and Japanese yen. SGX Nifty was trading 43 points lower, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets. Nikkei was closed.

Commodity cues

US crude oil prices fell on Friday in choppy trading pressured by the dollar's strength on better-than-expected U.S. jobs growth and by concerns about Europe's economy even as anxiety over Iran and potential supply disruptions supported crude futures.