 "Nifty futures catch poll fever; Wall St, Asian markets down")
Hong Kong: Today’s market mover could be the outcome of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. But ahead of that, everything points to a weak start to the trading day, going by early trades on the Nifty futures, and sentiment across the Asia-Pacific region.
As at 7.30 am IST, Nifty futures are trading down by nearly two-thirds of 1 percent. Across the region, indices are uniformly red, driven down by concerns for economic growth after China lowered its GDP target for the year, and some weak economic data out of the US overnight.
Later this week, Greece - that forever weeping wound - will be back in focus, as it grapples with ways to avoid a default, but it’s already affecting investor sentiment in global asset markets.
[caption id=“attachment_235180” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“As at 7.30 am IST, Nifty futures are trading down by nearly two-thirds of 1 percent.”]
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Overnight, Wall Street lost a bit of ground, as the risk-on trade of recent weeks lost momentum.
Back home, all eyes are on the outcome of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, since so much of political capital at the Central level rides on it. Portfolio manager PN Vijay sees the likelihood of a sharp upswing in the market once the election results are out.
Exit polls of course point to a strong finish by the Samajwadi Party, but unless it falls short of a majority, and is supported by the Congress, which in turn would mean that Congress can count on the SP’s support at the Centre, it’s hard to see how this works out favourably for the UPA government.
For now, we’ll likely see a weak start to trade today.
Venky Vembu attained his first Fifteen Minutes of Fame in 1984, on the threshold of his career, when paparazzi pictures of him with Maneka Gandhi were splashed in the world media under the mischievous tag ‘International Affairs’. But that’s a story he’s saving up for his memoirs… Over 25 years, Venky worked in The Indian Express, Frontline newsmagazine, Outlook Money and DNA, before joining FirstPost ahead of its launch. Additionally, he has been published, at various times, in, among other publications, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Outlook, and Outlook Traveller.