"Markets ended the day and week with losses and Benchmark indices are now flat this month. The results season got off to a weak start with Infosys results / guidance falling short of expectations. Markets were also impacted because of geo-political issues related to North Korea and Syria. Donald Trump's call to weaken the dollar also marred sentiments. The IIP numbers for February in India came in below expectations, but had limited impact on markets, we believe.
Going ahead, markets will focus on the quarterly results. Valuations are high and quarterly results will need to meet or beat expectations, if markets have to sustain at current levels and move up. Management commentary on the lingering impact of demonetization and their outlook for FY18 will be key factors to watch out for.
Domestic institutions continue to pump in money into the markets, as inflows continue unabated. However, foreign flows have turned negative over the past few days and we need to keep a close watch on the same, especially in the backdrop of geo-political issues as well as Trump's comments on a strong dollar.
We expect markets to be largely driven by the quarterly results in the immediate term. Other events to watch out for will be the US Fed meeting in May as well as the progress on GST in India".