Flat opening likely on muted cues from Asian peers

Indian markets are likely to kick off the truncated week on a flat note as cues from Asian markets are muted. Auto stocks will be in focus in today’s trading as auto companies will announce their September sales data. Additionally, the Nikkei Manufacturing PMI for September will be released today. The SGX Nifty has gained 10 points to 10,969, indicating a flat start.  
  
The stocks in Asia kicked off the fresh week in a muted fashion, following the tepid cues from Wall Street. The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index has gained 0.71 per cent, while, Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted are almost unchanged. China’s market is closed on account of National Day Holiday as also Hong Kong’s markets is closed for holiday.  
  
Back home, the carnage continued for the third straight day in a row as benchmark indices ended the first trading session of new F&O series with a loss of nearly half a per cent. In the broader markets, the selling pressure was intense as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap plummeted 2.03 per cent and 5.09 per cent, respectively. Among sectoral indices, intense hammering was seen in Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty as both the indices witnessed sharp cut between 4.75-5.02 per cent, while Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Bank ended with minuscule gains.  
  
The US markets spent most of the day bouncing back and forth across the neutral line before finishing the last trading session of Q3 roughly flat. Traders received a few economic reports, such as the personal income rose by slightly less-than-expected in the month of August. Meanwhile, personal spending gained 0.3 per cent in line with estimates, but below July’s 0.4 per cent gain. The final September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was adjusted slightly lower to 100.1, from the preliminary 100.8 figure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher by 18 points to 26,458, the Nasdaq Composite Index added 4 points to close at 8,046, and the S&P 500 index closed almost unchanged at 2,914.  
  
Friday turned out to be a dismal day for the European markets after Italy’s coalition government agreed to budget for the next year that will keep the country’s deficit at 2.4 per cent of its GDP and above the 2 per cent level required by the EU. The DAX of Germany dropped 1.52 per cent; the CAC 40 of France weakened by 0.85 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.47 per cent.