Sensex, Nifty may be tepid amid thin volume; banks in focus

Indian market may see ranged trade amid thin volumes. Investors will be keenly watching for any government announcement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 50-day demonetisation deadline draws to a close today. January Futures and Options series will kickstart today after a firm end of last series. The 50-share index closed up 68.75 points or 0.9 percent at 8103.60 while the Sensex was up 155.47 points or 0.6 percent at 26366.15.Market analysts feel strengthening rupee supported the upmove in absence of any major global triggers. Banks will be in focus today as RBI's financial stability report says bad loans will rise to 9.8 percent by March from 9.1 percent currently. Its sees little hope of credit growth and says that banks will remain risk averse till they clean up their books. The report also says if top stressed borrower defaults, 3 banks will face 37 percent losses while 11 banks will see 63 percent cut in profit Meanwhile, Suresh Prabhu's demand for a higher allocation for railways from the finance ministry is likely to be turned down. Railways to get close to Rs 50000 crore versus its demand of Rs 60,000 crore and will have to tap other resources meet its demands Globally, Asian stocks and the dollar were off to a subdued start as investors took profits on the last trading day of 2016, while the euro briefly spiked in thin trade. The euro jumped as much as 2 percent early on Friday, its biggest intraday gain since November 8, before settling back down to trade 0.6 percent higher at USD 1.0559. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed early on Friday. In a year marked by major political surprises, including Brexit and the unexpected election of political novice Donald Trump to US President in November, Asia ex-Japan stocks are poised to post a 3.3 percent gain. Wall Street ended slightly lower on Thursday, held down by bank shares in quiet holiday trading as traders looked to position for the new year. US equities have stalled in recent days after rallying in the wake of Donald Trump's November 8 election as US president. Investors are betting on benefits from Trump's plans to cut taxes and regulations and introduce fresh economic stimulus. The US dollar slipped against the yen and the euro as traders use the quiet holiday period to take profits on the dollar's recent gains, while a drop in US treasury yields on waning risk appetite reduced the greenback's appeal. Crude prices were steady even as a government report showed US crude stockpiles increased for a second week. Gold prices surged over 1 percent overnight following weakness in dollar.