Markets are expected to open lower tracking weak Asian peers and investors closely watching the April inflation data . The Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange were down 58 points, at 5523.
The April inflation reading is expected to affect the Reserve Bank of India’s decision on rate hike in the mid-term policy review next month. The inflation bias may remain on the upside after India’s state run gasoline companies raised prices by Rs 5 per litre soon after United Progressive alliance (UPA) and its allies won elections in three out of five states on Friday.
Analysts expect Indian markets to remain weak as Nifty has formed a bearish head on should pattern on the daily charts which indicates a major reversal in the bullish trend.
Most of the Asian markets were also trading in the red in the morning trades as sell-off in commodities weighed on resource shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4% led by losses in Banking shares. Investors veered away from risky assets as the Dollar strengthened. Euro-zone debt worries also affected investor sentiment. China's Shanghai Composite index was trading flat at 2,869.
The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.6% as rising yen weighed on exchange rate sensitive stocks.
South Korea's Kospi Composite was down 0.6%, Singapore's Strait Times edged lower by 0.9% and Taiwan's weighted index was off 0.4%.
