Markets turn anti-social

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill. There appears to be misery on the Street. We are staring at yet another tumultuous session as local and overseas headwinds continue to dampen sentiment unless we have some exciting finish like the IPL matches towards the end. The start is expected to be lower. Asian markets are down after the US and European markets took it on the chin. US stocks slumped after the much-anticipated jobs data failed to ease worries over sluggish labour conditions. CBOE VIX jumped 9% on Friday. It is likely to be an action-packed week. Odds are in favour of further downside unless the FM chooses to change the game. The crucial level to watch will be 5000 on the Nifty. The Indian markets last week succumbed to heavy selling pressure on the back of weak global cues with the NSE Nifty violating key support of 5120 (200-DMA) on a closing basis. A bearing engulfing pattern on the weekly chart has led to breakdown in the trading range of 5120-5300. The Nifty is likely to head towards 4925 in the near term. French voters sent President Nicolas Sarkozy marching out, choosing Socialist challenger François Hollande instead. European markets were hit by worries that outcome of weekend elections in France and Greece will put the EU fiscal compact in jeopardy. The euro is under pressure while the dollar has strengthened. Reports state Hollande is set to resume the traditional role of French leaders which is ‘annoying their allies’. But, in what is good news for India, crude oil has taken a tumble. Also, provisional FII figure for Friday’s session is positive. All eyes will be on Parliament, where the FM will present his arguments on the Finance Bill. Markets are eager to know if he will soothe frayed nerves over GAAR and Vodafone-like tax cases. Key Results Today: Advanta India, Andhra Bank, Aptech, Bank of India, Bosch, Brigade, GSK Consumer Healthcare, GSK Pharma, HDFC, Jubilant Life Sciences, Onmobile Global, Piramal Glass, Rolta India, SKS Microfinance, South Indian Bank, Tata Elxsi, Triveni Turbine and Welspun India. Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 4.279bn in the cash segment on Friday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Rs 2.8bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE. The FIIs were net sellers of Rs 4.54bn in the F&O segment on Friday, according to the provisional NSE data. The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 912mn in the cash segment on Thursday and the mutual funds were net sellers of Rs 2.33bn on the same day, according to the SEBI figures. Global Data Watch: Australia Building Permits (Mar), Australia Retail Sales (Mar), National Australia Bank’s Business Confidence (Apr), BOJ Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes, Australia building permits, UK Early May (bank holiday), EU Sentix Investor Confidence (May), Germany Factory Orders (Mar), UK BRC Retail Sales Monitor - All (Apr), UK RICS Housing Price Balance (Apr), US Consumer Credit Change (Mar) and US Fed’s Lacker speech. The euro fell to a three-month low today after Socialist Francois Hollande was elected president of France and Greek voters looked set to overthrow anti-bailout parties, stoking concern about the region's efforts to quell the long-running credit crisis. The 17-nation currency slid for a sixth day, its longest series of losses since September 2011, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party had its worst election result in more than half a century in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The yen and the dollar rose versus most of their major peers amid safe haven buying. Oil fell to the lowest level in more than four months after weaker-than-expected jobs data underscored mounting concerns about the health of the US economy. Futures slumped as much as 3.2% to the lowest intraday price since December 20, extending a 4% drop on May 4. US stock futures traded sharply lower in Asian trading. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 139 points to 12,818, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 30.50 points at 2,595.00 and S&P 500 futures lost 15.90 to 1,346.60.