Gap-down opening likely on weak global cues

Indian equity benchmarks are expected to open significantly lower given on the back of weakness across the global markets. The SGX Nifty is indicating that the Nifty could open lower by 65 points around 10,454 at the opening bell.  

The Q3FY18 GDP growth gained momentum as it stood at 7.2% YoY while the GVA also recovered to grow at 6.7%.   

Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday, following the negative lead overnight from Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has slumped 353 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slipped 115 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite has added 4 points.  

Back home, equity benchmarks fell for the second day on Wednesday, after a gap-down opening. The equity benchmarks witnessed an extremely volatile session before ending in the red terrain. Nifty ended below the important psychological level of 10,500 and the BSE Sensex settled at 34,184 down by 162 points. The broader indices ended with losses as well, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap indices losing 0.09% and 0.14%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty IT ended in the green, while Nifty Pvt Bank and Nifty Fin Services ended as top losers. 

In the US, all the three major indices finished lower for the second straight day on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the Dow logged their worst monthly performance since 2016 and the Nasdaq posting its weakest month since October 2016. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 381 points to close at 25,029, the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 57 points to finish at 7,273 and the S&P 500 lost 30 points to end the day at 2,714. The US Commerce Department said the gross domestic product climbed by 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to the previously estimated increase of 2.6 per cent, almost in line with the forecast.   

The European markets tumbled on Wednesday in line with losses in other global markets. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.44%, CAC 40 of France fell 0.44% and the UK FTSE 100 ended down by 0.70%.