Market may remain volatile due to F&O expiry

The market may remain volatile as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month November 2012 series to December 2012 series. The near-month November 2012 derivatives contracts expire on Thursday, 29 November 2012. Next week is a truncated trading week. The stock market remains closed on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, on account of Gurunanak Jayanti. Stock market participants will closely track the Winter Session of Parliament which began on Thursday, 22 November 2012, for fresh triggers. The session will mainly be devoted to essential Government legislative and other business, including financial business relating to Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2012-13 in respect of General Budget, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs said in a statement on 20 November 2012. Key economic agenda for the session includes amendment to the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, the Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011, the Companies Bill, 2011, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2011, and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011. The insurance bill will aim to raise the limit for foreign direct investment in the sector to 49% from 26%, while the pension bill will seek to allow foreign investments of up to 49% in local pension-fund managers. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 includes increasing the voting rights of large shareholders in private banks to 26% from 10%, and giving the central bank more powers. The Reserve Bank of India has held back approvals of new bank licenses, urging the government to first get the bill passed in parliament. On the global market front, investors are focused on US fiscal cliff. The US fiscal cliff refers to the year-end deadline for the expiration of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and the triggering of $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts, if the US Congress fails to act. The US Congress created the hazardous deadline of 31 December 2012 in August 2011 when it agreed to a deficit deal as a way out of a deadlock over raising the US debt ceiling. Investors will also track news flow from the European region as euro-zone leaders struggle to tackle Greek debt issue. Euro-zone finance ministers will meet again on Monday, 26 November 2012, to reach an agreement on conditions to release the next tranche of financial aid for Greece, whose debt and budget troubles have rocked markets world-wide over the past few years. At an extraordinary meeting held on 20 November 2012, euro-zone finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on conditions to release the next tranche of financial aid for Greece.