Cautious start likely following negative cues from Asian peers

The markets in India are expected to begin the truncated week on a cautious note as Asian markets are majorly trading in the negative terrain. The SGX Nifty is trading down by 4 points at 10,475. Among Nifty 50 stocks, IndusInd Bank and Indiabulls Housing Finance will announce their quarterly earnings today. Market participants will closely watch wholesale price inflation for the month of September and India's September trade balance, both of which are slated to be announced today.  
  
Most of the Asian stock markets are notably trading lower on Monday despite positive cues from the Wall Street on Friday. The Japanese market Nikkei 225 index has plunged 1.39 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.92 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite has added 0.06 per cent.  
  
Back home, Friday turned out to be a fabulous day of trading for the equity benchmarks as indices made a strong comeback and gained over 2 per cent. Sentiments remained upbeat following strength in rupee against the US dollar and sliding crude oil prices. The broader indices traded in sync with the benchmark indices and posted handsome gains, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap surging 2.52 and 2.42 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, barring Nifty IT which ended down by 1.51 per cent, all other sectoral indices ended in the green, with Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal ending as top gainers.   
  
In the US, after the two-day market rout, bulls made a strong comeback on the last trading session of the week as major indices logged handsome gains. At the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 287 points, the S&P 500 rose 39 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index outperformed its counterparts as it jumped 168 points. In the economic news, the import price index rose 0.5 per cent M-o-M for September versus projection of a 0.2 per cent rise, while a separate report from the University of Michigan showed unexpected decreased in consumer sentiment in the month of October.   
  
European indices traded in the positive terrain for the major part of the final trading session of the week, but pared their gains going into the close. At the closing bell, the DAX of Germany dipped 0.13 per cent, the CAC of France weakened 0.20 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.16 per cent.