What is your quick take on the stock markets for Thursday 21st April and do you see the market recovery continuing?

On 20-April, the Nifty recovered sharply by 177 points while the Sensex closed about 575 points higher. This comes as a relief after almost 5 consistent days of negative markets. However, FIIs continue to be net sellers. Oil and especially auto companies saw a sharp rally on Wednesday, although the geopolitical situation appeared to worsen.

The breadth of Nifty as measured by the A/D ratio was favourable at 38:12. On Wednesday, the VIX also tapered lower to 18.67 levels. There could be some volatility in the markets on account of While financials remained under pressure on yield concerns, auto stocks like Tata Motors, Maruti and Eicher rallied on the back of price hikes.

FPIs net sold Rs.3,009 crore as domestic funds bought stocks worth Rs.2,646 crore on Wednesday. FPIs have sold more than Rs.15,200 crore in last 3 days of trading. In global markets, the Dow was up 250 points while NASDAQ was down 167 points. While Europe was strong overall, the SGX Nifty was up by 47 basis points in early trades on Thursday.

In terms of the recovery continuing, the dip in US bond yields is good news and the markets would await further cues from the Powell Testimony. As results season pick up steam over the next 25 days, it looks like the margin pressure continues to be the big theme to rankle markets. Expect some options expiry volatility and some weekend caution too.