Market to remain sideways with negative bias

Indian equity markets are expected to trade in a range with negative bias due to holiday on December 25 on account of Christmas and less hope over passing of the Goods and Services Tax Bill in Rajya Sabha following the end of winter session of Parliament.

Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities Ltd , expects Nifty to test 8,000 level in near future but advises participants to keep an eye on developments in the last phase of the winter session, which concludes on Wednesday.

Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director, Trade Smart Online, a leading discount brokerage firm, believes that sentiments in global markets, movement of rupee against the dollar, and crude oil price will dictate near-term trend in the markets.

“For India, a Fed rate hike means that RBI will have lesser leeway to cut rates. Even though US rates are not the only criteria for setting the Indian rates, it still does play some part in RBI’s decision,'' he said.

Foreign portfolio investors have sold equities worth over Rs 5,500 crore in December.