No relief in sight

"The human mind can bear plenty of reality but not too much intermittent gloom." ~ Margaret Drabble. There is gloom all around and market players have turned wary of near-term prospects for risky assets such as equities. The IIP for March was dismal to say the least, once again calling into question the reliability of the data. Hopefully the Centre will soon address the issue of wild gyrations in important economic statistics. The start today is likely to be subdued as investors await the release of April inflation numbers. Headline WPI is likely to have cooled a wee bit, but the RBI is unlikely to get swayed by it due to high fiscal deficit and suppressed inflation in fuel and fertilizer. The rupee remains under threat on deteriorating external balance despite the RBI’s attempts to cap its losses. The risk-off trade is expected to continue globally given the renewed fears over eurozone debt crisis and its impact on world economy. The Government continues to dither on key reforms citing coalition compulsions while GAAR provisions, Vodafone row and telecom mess are keeping FIIs at bay. Earnings will continue to garner some attention as India Inc. braces for another tumultuous financial year. Asian stock indices are mixed today despite RRR cut by China on Saturday. US markets fell on Friday notwithstanding a positive report on consumer sentiment. JP Morgan's big trading loss weighed on the sentiment on Wall Street. The CBOE VIX jumped more than 5%. European equity benchmarks recovered from intraday losses on Friday but are likely to remain under pressure amid mounting political uncertainty in Greece. Key Results Today: Abbott India, Adani Ports, Adani Power, Alstom T&D, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, Havells India, Indraprastha Gas, IVRCL, JSW Steel, L&T, Maharashtra Seamless, Manappuram Finance, Monnet Ispat, Morepen Labs, J Kumar Infra, JK Paper, Everonn Education, Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, Orchid Chemicals, Saregama India, Shyam Telecom, Simplex Realty, SREI Infra, Trigyn Tech and Viceroy Hotels. Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1.58bn in the cash segment on Friday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Rs 2.43bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE. The FIIs were net sellers of Rs 644mn in the F&O segment on Friday, according to the provisional NSE data. The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 3.42bn in the cash segment on Thursday, according to the SEBI figures. Global Data Watch today: Australia Home Loans (Mar), Australia Investment Lending for Homes (Mar), EU Industrial Production (Mar) and Germany wholesale price index (April). Asian Markets on Monday: Asian stock indices were trading mostly lower as the undertone remains jittery amid concerns that political impasse in Greece could lead to fresh economic turmoil in the debt-stricken eurozone nation, which may eventually have to leave the currency bloc. Spain is another area of concern, with bond yields there crossing 6% again. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was flat at 9,012. Hong Kong’s Hang Sang Index dropped 0.8% at 20,052, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% at 2,414. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell ~0.3% to 4,282, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 1% to 1,925.