Dull start likely amid mixed cues from Asian peers

A slow start is in the offing for the Indian markets as cues from Asian markets are mixed. The SGX Nifty suggests that the Nifty could open unchanged at 11,488. A host of companies will announce results today, including Aditya Birla Capital, Apollo Hospital, Bosch India, CG Power, DLF, Dr Lal Pathlabs, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, GAIL, IGL, NCC, Hindalco, SBI, United Breweries, Voltas and Sun TV Networks. On the macroeconomic front, India's June industrial production data will be watched.  
  
Market across Asia are showing a lack of direction on Friday following a mixed session seen on the Wall Street.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng has added 0.18 per cent  and  China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.13 per cent.  On the flip side,  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 has dipped 0.38 per cent.  

Back home, equity benchmarks extended their previous session’s rally to end the Thursday’s session at yet another record closing high levels. The NSE Nifty conquered the 11,450 mark and the BSE Sensex crossed its crucial 38,000 mark. The broader indices outperformed frontline indices as the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap rose 0.49 per cent and 0.91 per cent, respectively. The top gaining sectoral indices on the NSE were Nifty PSU and Nifty Realty, while Nifty Pharma ended as a top loser.  

The US stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday with the Dow and the S&P 500 trading flat for most part of the trading session. But late in the day, a sudden decline pushed them into the negative terrain, whereas the tech-heavy index Nasdaq eked out modest gain and posted an eight-day winning streak, its longest since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 75 points to close at 25,509 and the S&P 500 shed 4 points to finish at 2,854. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 3 points to end at 7,892. In the latest economic data, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims fell more than expected in the last week, while a separate report released by the Labor Department showed producer prices unexpectedly came in unchanged in the month of July. Going ahead, market participants will closely watch the release of the US consumer inflation data.  
  
The European stocks were caught in a tug-of-war on Thursday amid the US-China trade spat as well as the new US sanctions on Russia. The DAX of Germany rose 0.34 per cent; CAC 40 of France closed almost unchanged, while the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.45 per cent.