Market seen subdued at start on weak Asian equities

Trading of S&P CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates a slide of 51.50 points at the opening bell. Asian markets were trading weak on Thursday, 29 March 2012. The market may remain volatile today, 29 March 2012, as traders roll over positions from the near-month March 2012 series to April 2012 series due to the expiry of March 2012 derivatives contracts. ONGC may be in demand on reports the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on Wednesday, 28 March 2012 signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) for the newly awarded 16 oil and gas blocks under the ninth round of new exploration licensing policy (NELP) with the state-run oil exploration giant emerging as the biggest winner with six blocks. However, ONGC saw its bids being rejected for eight blocks including give deep sea for various reasons. Coal India will be in focus as the company's board will meet again today, 29 March 2012 to approve the new draft fuel supply agreement. State Bank of India (SBI) may reportedly get Rs 7,900 crore infusion today, 29 March 2012. The shareholders of the bank at the general meeting on 19 March 2012, had passed a special resolution approving preferential allotment of equity shares to the government for a consideration of Rs 7,900 crore. State-run oil marketing firms may see action on reports the Congress-led UPA government has given an in-principle approval to three state-owned oil companies Indian Oil Corporation, HPCL and BPCL to increase petrol prices by Rs 4-5 a litre. A final call on raising diesel and LPG prices along with the petrol prices is likely to be announced on Saturday, 31 March 2012, reports indicated. Key benchmark indices edged lower on Wednesday, 28 March 2012, as weak global stocks weighed on sentiment. The BSE Sensex shed 135.74 points or 0.79% to settle at 17,121.62, its lowest closing level since 26 March 2012. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the new tax avoidance rules are meant to check tax avoidance through complicated deals, and not directed against any particular mode of investment like participatory notes (PNs). His comments come at a time when there are concerns in the market that investments through participatory notes and those coming to India through tax havens like Mauritius could be subject to General Anti-Avoidance Rules which comes into effect from 1 April 2012, which in turn could impact FII inflows. Participatory Notes or P-Notes are instruments issued by registered foreign institutional investors to overseas investors, who wish to invest in the Indian stock markets without registering themselves with the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 148.06 crore on Wednesday, 28 March 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. They had bought shares worth a net Rs 42.99 crore on Tuesday, 27 March 2012. And sold shares worth a net Rs 135.29 crore on Monday, 26 March 2012. Earlier FIIs had made substantial purchases of Indian stocks with their inflow totaling Rs 7305.48 crore in 11 trading sessions from 9 to 23 March 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2012 earnings. Investors will focus on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook. The Q4 earnings season will begin in mid April 2012. Advance tax payout of top Indian firms for the last installment of 15 March 2012 was largely flat. A muted advance tax payment indicates that the revenues and profits of companies are under stress. Companies have to pay advance tax on their projected earnings a fortnight before the end of every quarter. The government plans to raise Rs 3.7 lakh crore from the market by issuing bonds during the first half of 2012-13. This works out to around 65% of the total market borrowings estimated at Rs 5.7 lakh crore in the next financial year. Typically, the government completes two-thirds of its borrowings in the first half, the so-called lean season for private sector fund raising. On an average, the government will borrow around Rs 15,000 crore every week. The announcement, which came after market hours on Tuesday, 27 March 2012, is likely to send bond yields higher on concerns of large supplies. Data on Wednesday, 28 March 2012 showed that UK gross domestic product fell 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, revised down from a fall of 0.2% previously. Earlier, data showed the French economy expanded 0.2% quarter-on-quarter at the end of 2011, slowing from 0.3% growth in the third quarter Asian markets edged lower on Thursday, 29 March 2012 as investors limited their risk exposures on concerns about growth prospects in China and US. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were down by between 0.25% to 1.75%. US stocks declined on Wednesday, 28 March 2012 as sliding oil and metals prices gave investors a reason to sell. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 71.52 points, or 0.54%, to 13,126.21 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 6.98 points, or 0.49%, to 1,405.54 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 15.39 points, or 0.49%, to 3,104.96.