Rupee will remain strained: Religare

Here are experts equity calls for the day on how the markets are expected to trade:

Manoj Singla, Religare: The Indian markets move in tandem with the rupee - dollar equation, more so in the last few years. We believe that barring a strong resurgence in global capital flows the rupee will remain strained and a strong overhang on the markets. We advise caution in such a scenario, preferring defensives or sectors with dollar led revenues like IT, pharma and consumer stocks. Bharat Iyer, JPMorgan: The S&P revised India's sovereign credit outlook from stable to negative. Our analysis of historical rating changes shows that the impact tends to be relatively limited in the case of equities. The impact on FII flows also mirrors this trend. The impact of rating changes, particularly downgrades, on the exchange rate has however been more meaningful. We think this puts pressure on the Govt to take measures to reduce the deficit and improve the investment climate.