Pre Session- Bearish opening on the cards for Dalal Street on poor economic data

The key domestic equity benchmarks are likely to witness a gap down opening on Wednesday as investors react to a surprise factory contraction and a surge in inflation in Asia’s third biggest economy, souring the lure for risky assets. India’s industrial output plunged to over a four-year low, contracting a massive 3.2 per cent in November 2015 from the same month a year ago as manufacturing production shrank 4.4 per cent, signaling a slowdown in the country’s economy. Meanwhile, consumer inflation spiked to a 15-month high of 5.61 per cent in December 2015 from 5.41 per cent in November 2015, dashing hopes of a near-term interest rate cut by the RBI. Shares of IT major TCS may see some selling pressure after the company reported Q3 revenue which lagged analysts’ estimates. TCS in after-market hours on Tuesday said that Q3 FY 2015-16 rupee revenue rose sequentially 0.7 per cent to Rs 27,364 crore but dollar revenue shrank 0.3 per cent to USD 4,145 million weighed down by seasonality and Chennai floods. Weakness in the CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery which fell by 0.64 per cent or 48 points at 7,537 at 10:23 am Singapore time, signals that Dalal Street may open lower today. Marking a second straight session in the red, the 30-share Sensex extended a slump from a 19-member low on Tuesday, falling by 143.01 points or by 0.58 per cent to end at 24,682.03 amidst caution ahead of key macro-economic data, while lenders retreated after IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank posted a rise in their bad loans.

Asian stocks rebounded from a three-year low today as a surprise rise in China’s exports eased concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy. China’s Shanghai Composite surged over 1 per cent while Hang Seng advanced over 2.2 per cent after data showed that China’s exports rose 2.3 per cent, year on year, in Yuan terms in December 2015, following an annual 3.7 per cent dip in November 2015. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged over 2.6 per cent, rising for the first time this year tracking overnight gains at Wall Street amidst speculation that the China induced global mayhem may have been overdone. US job openings rose in November and small business confidence climbed last month, signaling strength in the world’s biggest economy, supporting a rally in US equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.72 per cent; the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.03 per cent while S&P 500 rose 0.78 per cent.

Top traded Volumes on NSE Nifty – State Bank of India 20318816.00, Vedanta Ltd. 14023690.00, Axis Bank Ltd. 13070476.00, ICICI Bank Ltd. 10814454.00 and Tata Motors Ltd. 8363062.00.

On BSE, total number of shares traded was 31.93 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs. 2643.71 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 283120 with a total turnover of Rs. 14932.02 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 504841 with a total turnover of Rs. 25446.91 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 2657316 with a total turnover of Rs. 149031.51 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 319392 with a total turnover of Rs. 16512.72 Crore.

The FIIs on 12/01/2016 stood as net seller in equity and net buyer in debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs. 3146.46 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs. 987.39 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs. 4192.26 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 602.20 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs. -1045.80 Crore and Rs. 385.19 Crore.