Market may open lower on weak Asian stocks

The market may open lower on weak Asian stocks. Trading of S&P CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates a fall of 25 points at the opening bell. Asian stocks fell today after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate setting meeting showed less need for more asset buying

Reliance Industries (RIL) and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever have reportedly entered into tie-up to collaborate in setting up a chain of beauty and wellness formats across the country. Reports stated that the beauty and wellness formats will be started in Reliance Hypermarkets in May.



Steel makers will be in focus on reports the domestic steel makers have raised the prices for both long and flat products by up to Rs 1500 a tonne, to partially offset the rising production cost.

Key benchmark indices logged gains for the third consecutive trading session on Tuesday, 3 April 2012 with data showing buying of Indian stocks by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) for the second day in a row supporting sentiment. The Sensex jumped 119.27 points or 0.68% to settle at 17,597.42, its highest closing since 21 March 2012.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 332.47 crore on Tuesday, 3 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Their inflow totaled Rs 1541.06 crore in three sessions from 30 March 2012 to 3 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The stock market remains closed tomorrow, 5 April 2012 on account of Mahavir Jayanti and again on Friday, 6 April 2012 on account of Good Friday.

The next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 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.

IT bellwether Infosys announces Q4 March 2012 results on 13 April 2012. Lube oil major Castrol announces Q1 March 2012 results on 16 April 2012. Private sector bank HDFC Bank unveils FY 2012 results on 18 April 2012. ACC unveils Q1 March 2012 results on 19 April 2012. IndusInd Bank reports FY 2012 results on the same day. Axis Bank announces Q4 results on 27 April 2012. Titan Industries announces FY 2012 results on 30 April 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012.

The expansion of the manufacturing sector slowed for a third month in March as growth in new orders eased and costs for raw materials kept rising, a business survey showed on Monday. The HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, eased to 54.7 in March from 56.6 in February. In January, the PMI reading was 57.5. The index has now stayed above the 50 mark - which shows growth rather than contraction - for three years.

Asian shares eased on Wednesday after the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's March meeting suggested the bank was less likely to take further stimulus measures. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan fell by between 0.43% to 1.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.31%. China's stock markets remain shut for holiday.

U.S. shares ended with losses on Tuesday, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate setting meeting showed less need for more asset buying.

Federal Reserve policymakers have backed away from the need for another round of monetary stimulus as the U.S. economy gradually improves. Minutes of the central bank's meeting published on Tuesday showed only two of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee's 10 voting members saw the case for additional monetary stimulus. The Fed's assessment of the economy remained cautious as policymakers worried about a still elevated U.S. jobless rate and potential risks to the recovery. The Fed will update its outlook at its next meeting on April 24-25.