Getting worse?

Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working. - Anonymous.

The UPA II regime has really not lived up to expectations so far. The government has its task cut out on multiple battle fronts - be it inflation, corruption or foreign policy. Policy making is in a limbo and India Inc. is not amused, nor is the market. So, it remains to be seen if Manmohan Singh & Co. can still resurrect the situation.



For the day, the prospects on the bourses are not looking bright following a big fall on Wall Street on Friday. The Dow finished below 12,000 for the first time in three months. Some pessimism has crept in with regard to the US economy. QE2 will end this month and the road ahead is uncertain.

Europe too continues to struggle in resolving the sovereign debt problems. China has seen some slowdown while Japan is yet to emerge from the March disaster.

Given this rather bleak backdrop and lack of participation among market players, it would be prudent to stay quiet for a while. Wait for a clear breakout signal and stick to a selective approach.

Inflation for May will be announced on Tuesday. The RBI will unveil its monetary policy on June 16; it is expected to jack up policy rates by 25 bps. The first installment of the advance tax for FY12 will be released this week as well.

Stocks like Bajaj Auto, TVS, Dr. Reddy’s and Bharat Forge could be in the spotlight amid reports that the Government is likely to extend the popular DEPB scheme for three months.

Maruti might remain under pressure as the crippling labour strike continues at its Manesar plant.

Infosys announced new inductions to its Board over the weekend.

Reliance Industries and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure will be in action after the two companies said they will buy Bharti’s stake in its two insurance JVs with French company Axa.

HCC could fall after the Environment Ministry asked the Maharashtra government to take action against Lavasa Corp.

Idea Cellular will announce its results today.

FII inflows have tapered off lately. FIIs were net sellers of Rs 1.7bn in the cash segment on Friday, according to the provisional NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 3.36bn on the same day. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net sellers at Rs 4.2bn.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 1.46bn in the cash segment on Thursday, as per SEBI web site. Mutual funds were net buyers of Rs 449mn on the same day.

In global action, the yen fell against most of its major counterparts on speculation that the Bank of Japan will on Tuesday introduce more stimulus measures to shore up the world's third-biggest economy.

Oil prices declined for a second day in New York amid mounting speculation that slowing growth in the US and China will hit global demand for energy.

A "perfect storm" of fiscal woe in the US, a slowdown in China, European debt restructuring and stagnation in Japan may converge on the global economy, says New York University professor Nouriel Roubini.

There is a one-in-three chance the factors will combine to stunt growth from 2013, Roubini has been quoted as saying in an interview. According to him, the other possible outcomes are "anemic but okay" global growth or an "optimistic" scenario in which the expansion improves.