Markets likely to open higher on Wednesday

After a sharp fall in the previous trading session, the markets may open in positive note. The key positive catalyst for the markets this morning is the news that Saudi Arabia is likely set to normal oil productions levels by end of September. On domestic front, there are strong murmurs on the D-Street that the government is likely to come out with the fourth set of booster shots very soon to arrest the slowdown in the economy.  In the shadow of this, there is some sector specific news which could keep the gains restrictive in today’s session as Fitment committee rules out GST cut for Auto, Consumer Durables or Biscuits. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading higher by 47 points at 10,889 mark.

Asian markets were seen trading in positive terrain in early deals on Wednesday following modest gains overnight on Wall Street. Market participants also await the interest rate decision by the US Fed which is set to be released later stateside. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.06 per cent, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has risen 0.17 per cent and the China’s Shanghai Composite has added 0.27 per cent.

Back home, on Tuesday it was a complete massacre on the Dalal Street as stocks across the board took a severe beating. Fear of soaring crude oil price following attacks on Saudi oil facilities and a deprecating rupee rattled investors’ sentiment. The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed with losses of around 642 points (1.73 per cent) and 186 points (1.69 per cent), respectively. Even the Midcap and Smallcap index were beaten down badly. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices closed down by 1.96 and 2.17 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, all the indices on the NSE ended in red with Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank being the top losers. The advance-decline ratio was leaned towards decliners. The Volatility index India VIX surged about 7 per cent to settle at 16 mark.  

The US markets ended Tuesday’s session with modest gains as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of monetary policy decision. Meanwhile, better than expected reads on industrial production and improvement in the US homebuilder confidence offered support to the markets. At the closing bell, the Dow added 34 points, S&P 500 was up 8 points and the Nasdaq gained 32 points.

The European markets finished mixed on Tuesday. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.06 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 shed 0.01 per cent, while, France’s CAC 40 added 0.24 per cent.