Markets likely to open flat despite positive global leads

The Indian markets are likely to open flat with a positive bias on Wednesday, despite positive leads from Wall Street. The muted trend in the SGX Nifty suggests that Nifty could open with little change at 11,429. Among Nifty 50 companies, BPCL, Cipla, HPCL and Lupin results are scheduled today.  
  
Majority of stock markets in Asia are trading higher on Wednesday after Wall Street gained on strong corporate earnings. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has edged up 0.41 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng has advanced 0.12 per cent, whereas China’s Shanghai Composite has dipped 0.59 per cent. 
  
Back home, key indices opened on a positive note but were unable to build upon the early gains as indices moved in a narrow range thereby turning Tuesday’s session into a day of consolidation. The broader indices cooled off after rallying for the last couple of weeks, with the Nifty Mid-cap and Small cap dipping 0.28 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, Nifty Media and Nifty Metal gained the most, on the other hand, Nifty PSU Banks ended as a top loser. 
  
The US stocks finished in the green on Tuesday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq gaining for a sixth day in a row, its longest winning streak since March. The strength on Wall Street was seen on the back of upbeat corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 127 points at 25,629, the Nasdaq Composite Index added 24 points to close at 7, 884, and the S&P 500 index gained 8 points to finish at 2,858, bringing the index within a striking distance from its record close of 2,873 reached January 26. On the economic front, the US job openings edged higher in June as the number of positions waiting to be filled increased by 3,000 to 6.66 million in June according to the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey.  
  
The European indices ended Tuesday’s session firmly in the positive territory amid the latest batch of corporate earnings. The mining and energy stocks posted solid gains along with automakers. The DAX of Germany gained 0.40 per cent; CAC 40 of France rose 0.80 per cent and UK’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.71 per cent.