Markets likely to rally further despite mixed cues from Asian peers

Indian markets are expected to extend their jubilant run shrugging of mixed cues from the Asian peers. The SGX Nifty indicates that Nifty could open around the level of 10,994, with a gain of 39 points.   
  
Asian markets are lacking clear direction on Wednesday on the back of Wall Street experiencing a volatile session overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.13 per cent; while China’s Shanghai Composite Index and the Japanese stock market has dipped 0.16 and 0.09 per cent, respectively.  
  
Back home, after initial hiccups and trading lower in the first half of the trading session, equity benchmark indices bounced back as buying interest emerged in the second half of the trading session and extended their northward movement for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday. The Nifty added 0.19 per cent to end above 10,900 mark and the BSE Sensex rose 0.21 per cent to close at 36,347. The broader indices outperformed frontline gauges as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap ended up by 0.37 and 0.73 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, Nifty Media plunged the most, while Nifty PSU Bank gained the most.   
  
The US markets, after starting the Tuesday session on a cheerful note, experienced substantial volatility as the day progressed and in the end, the markets managed to eke out modest gains. On the economic front, the US commerce department released a report showing new residential housing starts rose to 1.26 million in the month of November, exceeding the forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.35 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.45 per cent and the S&P 500 closed nearly flat. Going ahead, traders will closely monitor the Fed announcement.  
  
The European markets ended Tuesday session in the negative terrain as Germany’s business confidence eased for a fourth straight month in December. The DAX of Germany weakened 0.29 per cent, the CAC of France fell 0.95 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 1.06 per cent.