Mumbai, Aug 7: Investors are awaiting the upcoming MPC meeting, where the RBI is expected to maintain its policy rates at 6.5 per cent, says Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial services. The week began on a positive note, with hopes of an end to the policy tightening era due to cooling inflation worldwide. However, negative news about the US rating downgrade, weak factory activity data from the Eurozone and China, and prolonged FII selling triggered by rising US bond yields caused widespread worries across the globe, he said. Increased concerns over the US economy forced investors to flee in search of safe haven investments, leading to a surge in the dollar index. Nonetheless, the domestic market recovered from the impact of weak global cues, gaining support from positive domestic earnings led by IT and pharma stocks. India’s manufacturing activity remained robust, although it marginally moderated for the second consecutive month in July, he added.
On the other hand, the domestic service PMI exceeded market expectations, reaching a 13-year high, driven by a rise in new orders, particularly in international sales. Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management said the equity market saw some selling coming in during the week almost around the time the news of the downgrade of the US rating by Fitch was announced. The matter was more or less ignored by the markets, and some strength was visible in the US unit. The economic data due up from the US, Europe and China, and the policy announcements due very soon would determine the trajectory of markets in the coming week, he added. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said that on a weekly basis, the Nifty has fallen 0.66 per cent and the large upper and lower shadows on the weekly candlestick denote the tug of war between bulls and bears. On a near term basis, the Nifty could stay in the 19,655-19,296 band while on a short term basis, it could stay in the 19,796 – 19,201 band. Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities said the short term trend of Nifty remains negative. The present upmove could encounter strong hurdles around 19,600-19,650 levels in the coming sessions. Immediate support is at 19,400 levels.