Mr Mitul Shah, Head Of Research at Reliance Securities.
Domestic equities closed higher, led by financial sector which rallied post the announcement of HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd. merger. However, investors' circumspection of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and its impact on the markets, remained. Nifty gained 2.1%. Broader markets underperformed compared to the main indices with Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap gaining 1.6% each. All sectoral indices ended in green. Nifty Fin Service gained the most at 4.5% followed by Nifty Bank which was up 3.9% and Nifty Pvt Bank which added 3.8%.
US equities closed higher Friday, after a March jobs report reinforced a picture of a healthy economy but also underlined expectations for the Federal Reserve to be more aggressive in hiking interest rates in an effort to rein in persistently hot inflation. For the week, the Dow fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq advanced 0.7%. The Dow snapped two straight weeks of gains while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each advanced for a third straight week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Markets continue to remain jittery as investors try to gauge the effects of Russia-Ukraine war, whilst simultaneously mulling over the possibility of FED raising interest rates even further to curb inflation. Additionally, rising oil and commodity prices are threatening supply-chain and logistics by disrupting shipping and air freight. The Chinese economy continues its battle with rising coronavirus infections. While the world awaits the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, over near-term, devastation due to the war and additional sanctions on the Russian economy, would have menacing effects on global and Indian equities.