Upward movement likely

Blue-chip stocks are expected to lead the rally with annul results round the cornerA The Indian stock markets ended the fiscal 2012-13 with an 8.2 per cent gain when the BSE Sensex closed the last week at 18836 points with a weekly gain of 100 points in just three trading days. The markets remained closed on Wednesday on account of Holi and on Friday on account of Good Friday. During the three trading days, bourses witnessed fluctuations both ways. However, the last one on Thursday was the last trading day for March series of F&O contracts and therefore, marked with short-covering by the bear operators. Trading on Monday resumed with renewed hopes of a fresh buying support as the prices of equities had already gone down too much due to sustained downtrend in the preceding couple of weeks mainly on political instability. The initial trend on Monday showed upward movement. But Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party supremo, has fired fresh salvo hinting there is likelihood of early elections to Lok Sabha sometime in November. As the UPA government is at his mercy, his statement has marred market sentiment and several stocks started plummeting and ended the day with a minor to major losses. But, when it was learnt that what Mulayam Singh was expecting a huge financial help for his home state where his son Akhilesh Yadav is the Chief Minister, and the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram assured him help, the markets started looking up once again which prompted the bear operators to cover their short positions before the expiry of the March contracts for F&O in A group shares. The process of short-covering continued on Thursday also. The end result was a gain of 100 points on the BSE Sensex in just three trading days.

With the financial year 2012-13 coming to an end, a hope for a better year 2013-14 is still intact as the US economy is gradually improving and the European nations too are likely to come out from the rut. The Indian economy, though not in a very good shape presently, is expected to have bottomed out of its worst phase and a better time is not far away with the firmness of the government in implementing economic reforms. However, the near term trend will now depend more on the corporate number season which is to commence from second week of April, and not on the political situation as the same has already been factored in. Though the central government is on shaky ground, it is likely to complete its term as no one including trouble makers want to unseat it and face untimely elections. The markets are therefore more likely to look up and prices of select scrips to go up. The leading and blue-chip stocks are expected to be in the forefront in the next uptrend that is going to be triggered by corporate numbers starting from second week of April. The long term investors are recommended that they must not miss the opportunity to pick up stocks for long term investing.