Markets likely to begin on a positive note tracking encouraging global cues

Indian equity markets are likely to open in the green on Wednesday, following the rally on Wall Street overnight and positive sentiments prevailing in the Asian markets. The SGX Nifty is trading higher by 27 points at 11,342, signalling a positive start for the day.  
  
The stocks in Asia are trading on cheerful note on Wednesday tracking the robust close on Wall Street in overnight trading. The Japanese market, Nikkei 225 has surged 1.42 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.94 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite has added 0.29 per cent.  
  
Back home, the Indian benchmark indices reversed after the positive opening, where Nifty and Sensex closed lower shedding 99 and 295 points from the previous close. The broader market indices underperformed the benchmark indices, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ending with losses of 1.40 per cent and 2.08 per cent, respectively. Talking about sectorial performance, barring Nifty FMCG, which gained over 1 per cent, all other sectoral indices ended the session sharply in the red. The PSU Bank index shed the most, i.e. 5.5 per cent, as Bank of Baroda tumbled 17 per cent after the government announced its merger plans with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank.  
  
The US stock benchmarks notched solid gains and booked their best daily gains in weeks on Tuesday, as market participants appear to have set the latest trade escalations between US and China aside, at least temporarily. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 185 points to close at 26,247; the S&P 500 gained 16 points to finish at 2,904 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 60 points to end at 7,956. On Tuesday, in the latest development on the US-China trade war front, China said it will increases tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods in retaliation, after President Donald Trump announced new US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.  
  
The majority of the European stocks inched higher on Tuesday, despite escalating trade tensions between the between the US and China, as former imposed further tariffs and the latter retaliated with another round of levies on US goods. The tariffs on Chinese goods are initially set at 10 per cent, as compared to 25 per cent previously projected; while China’s rate was also below its previously-projected range. The DAX of Germany inched up 0.51 per cent; the CAC 40 of France rose 0.28 per cent, while UK’s FTSE 100 ended declined 0.03 per cent.