Flat to negative start likely amid mixed cues from Asian peers

The outlook for the day flat to negative start as the SGX Nifty at the time of writing is seen trading down by 30 points at 10,737. Also, the cues from the Asian peers are not clear, hence tentativeness may persist, but we cannot rule out bargain hunting at lower levels. Hence, the level of 10,680 would be a crucial support level to watch out for the index. Meanwhile, in a big boost to the public sector banks, the government approved the recapitalisation of Rs 48,239 crore for 12 public sector banks. 
  
Asian markets struggled for direction on Thursday following a choppy session on the Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong’s stock index Hang Seng has added 0.06 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite index has advanced 0.12 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 has dipped 0.14 per cent. 
  
Back home, the Wednesday’s session turned out to be wonderful as the bulls made a strong comeback as the key benchmark indices snapped their losing streak registering gains of just over 1 per cent. Nifty reclaimed its important psychological mark of 10,700 and BSE Sensex reclaimed the 35,750 mark. In line with the benchmark indices, the broader indices also ended the session in the green, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap surging 1.03 per cent and 1.06 per cent, respectively. All the sectoral indices witnessed strong buying interest, with Nifty Metal, Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank being the top gainers.  
  
The US stocks eked out modest gains on Wednesday amid bouts of volatility in the afternoon as the FOMC delivered the minutes from its January meeting. The meeting showed that Fed officials believe a ‘patient approach’ to rate hikes would give them more time to assess the economic effect of President Donald Trump’s trade battles with China and other countries, as well as the severity of a developing slowdown in global growth. The Dow Jones rose 0.24 per cent, tech-heavy Nasdaq hovered just above the neutral line and the S&P 500 inched up 0.18 per cent. 
  
The European indices ended in the green on Wednesday amid another round of US-China trade negotiations. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.82 per cent; the CAC 40 of France added 0.69 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK gained 0.69 per cent.