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Indian markets closed yet another session in red on Wednesday, scaling fresh 11-month closing lows. Today, markets are likely to get optimistic start tracking supportive global cues. Investors will be looking ahead to the panel of ministers on GST rate rationalisation is scheduled to meet on June 17 to discuss possible tweaking in tax rates. The Group of Ministers (GoM) is likely to discuss possible changes in the tax slab, they said, adding that the final report of the panel would take some more time. Traders will be taking encouragement with a report that India has witnessed the sharpest rise among the Asian economies, with a six-position jump from 43rd to 37th rank on the annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development, largely due to gains in economic performance. Some support will come as Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) said India’s agricultural and processed food product exports will continue to surge in the current fiscal after a record shipment valued at $25.6 billion in 2021-22 because of global demand for the agricultural commodities. However, some cautiousness may come with report that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold Rs 3,531.15 crore worth of shares on June 15, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Besides, the government data showed that India's merchandise exports in May rose by 20.55 per cent to $38.94 billion, while the trade deficit ballooned to a record $24.29 billion and imports during May 2022 grew by 62.83 per cent to $63.22 billion. There will be some reaction in mineral’s industry stocks as the government said the country’s mineral production rose by 7.8 per cent in April 2022 over the same month a year ago. Manganese ore, coal, lignite, bauxite and phosphorite were some of the minerals that showed positive growth in April. Cement industry stocks will be in limelight as credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said it believes a sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the government's thrust on infrastructure and affordable housing, and a revival in corporate capex, will underpin growth of the cement sector.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday after a policy announcement by the Fed that raised interest rates to market expectations as the US central bank seeks to fight rising inflation without sparking a recession. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday after the US central bank's policy move, which is along expected lines.

Back home, Indian benchmark indices ended lower for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, amid a mixed trend across global markets as investors awaited the outcome of a key Fed meeting. Key gauges made cautious start and swung between gains and losses throughout the session, as unabated foreign fund outflows continued to weigh on the domestic equity markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 4,164.01 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.  Some concerns also came after Crisil Ratings said in a report that non-banking financial companies are likely to witness close to Rs 18 lakh crore of their outstanding debt getting repriced at higher levels in FY23 amid the rising interest rate scenario. The agency expects borrowing cost of NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) to go up by 85-105 basis points (bps) in this fiscal owing to recent hikes in repo rate by 90 basis points in two tranches and an expected rise of another 75 bps in the remaining fiscal. Cautiousness prevailed in the markets in late afternoon deals, after data showing that India's trade deficit widened to a record $24.29 billion in May 2022 from $6.53 billion in the same month last year due to a sharp jump in the country's imports. The merchandise trade deficit in May 2022 is the highest ever monthly gap. On a year-on-year basis, it has surged by 271.96 per cent. Some anxiety also came after credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that the sharp rise in the interest rate is likely to affect the volume in non-priority sector lending (PSL) securitisation in the near term, unlike that of PSL transactions, which are more driven by regulatory requirements. According to the report, the sharp rate rise of more than 1%-2% along with a challenging business environment may affect borrowers with floating interest rate loans such as home loans and loan-against-property (LAP), and especially borrowers having lesser financial flexibilities. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 152.18 points or 0.29% to 52,541.39 and the CNX Nifty was down by 39.95 points or 0.25% to 15,692.15.

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