Mumbai :The stock market will look up to a range of factors like the Gujarat polls, the industrial production and inflation numbers, as well as automobile sales data for direction this week, according to experts.
With the voting for 89 seats in the first-phase of the assembly elections in Gujarat over on December 9, the market will be waiting for the second round of polling in 93 constituencies to be held on December 14. Counting of votes will take place on December 18.
Geojit Financial Services Chief Market Strategist Anand James said, “… investors would also prefer clarity from Gujarat elections before strengthening their bets.” Among other data, the announcement of automobile sales data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) will be in focus this week. According to Epic Research CEO Mustafa Nadeem, the automobile space will continue to perform well as year-end sales increase and a further news of a hike in prices in the coming months will improve the margins. Besides, the industrial output data and inflation numbers will also set the tone for domestic equities during the week.
“India’s industrial production which was at 3.8 per cent and manufacturing production which was at 3.4 per cent will be released and crucial to watch as the revival seen in numbers need to be maintained or it was a one-off event. Inflation which was at 3.59 per cent, highest in last few months but around comfortable levels will also be eyed,” Nadeem said. Last week, the RBI left its policy rate unchanged at six per cent, as was expected, but raised the inflation forecast for the remainder of the fiscal to 4.3-4.7 per cent.
