Flat to positive start seen for the markets

Indian equity markets are likely to make a flat to positive start on Friday with traders eyeing third-quarter corporate earnings results of index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Reliance, ITC, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank for directional cues. The SGX Nifty indicates that the Nifty could open at 10,823 up by 12 points at the opening bell.  

The GST rates have been reduced on a total of 29 goods and 53 categories of services. The GST Council has also proposed to make the system of filing returns simpler to make the filing process more seamless.  

Today is a busy day on the earnings front as over 15 companies are set to report their quarterly earnings. HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Atul, CDSL, GNA Axles, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, IDFC Bank, Jubilant Foodworks, Kansai Nerolac Paints, NIIT Technologies, PC Jewellers, Tata Elxsi are some of the key companies to announce their results today.  

Majority of the stock markets in Asia are seen trading with modest gains on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 has surged 73 points, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index has risen 14 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 11 points.   

Back home, markets on Thursday recorded new highs with the frontline indices Sensex consolidating above 35,000 and Nifty closing above 10,800-mark. The market retreated from day’s high as some investors took profit off the tables after recent gains. Sector-wise, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pvt Bank ended up 1.12% and 1.08%, respectively. The breadth of the market remained negative with over three shares declining for every one share advancing.  

The US stock benchmarks finished lower on Thursday as the sentiment turned sour on concerns about a potential government shutdown and profit-taking also contributing with some investors cashing in on the recent run to record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 98 points to 26,018, S&P 500 dipped 5 points to 2,798 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 2 points to 7,296.  

The major European stock benchmarks ended Thursday’s session on a mixed note. The euro and the pound sterling were seen holding their recent gains against dollar and, as a result, the shares of exporters were under pressure. Additionally, the corporate earnings were mixed. The DAX of Germany rose 0.74%, CAC 40 of France added 0.02% and the FTSE 100 of the UK declined 0.32%.