Markets may begin cautiously; F&O expiry to trigger volatility
Today, the start of the F&O series expiry session is likely to be cautious and a lot of volatility is likely to be seen with the progress of the session as the traders balance their positions to the new series. The SGX Nifty indicates that the Nifty could open lower by 45 points around 10,338 at the opening bell.
Most Asian markets slipped lower on Thursday following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. The Japanese stock market is trading lower by 258 points and the Hang Seng has plunged 362 points. However, Shanghai’s market reopens after a long holiday break and it is trading higher by 57 points.
Back home, stock markets ended the session with modest gains on Wednesday, breaking the three-day losing streak. The IT stocks were in the limelight today as the Nifty IT index rose 2.33% after NASSCOM reportedly issued a cautiously optimistic outlook for the Indian IT Sector. The broader markets ended with modest losses as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap closed with losses of 0.06% and 0.29%, respectively. To conclude, Nifty settled at 10,397 with gains of 0.36% and BSE Sensex closed at 33,845 with gains of 0.42%.
The US markets tumbled on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting ignited a strong bout of volatility, as bond yields climbed to a four-year peak at 2.95% which weighed on equities. The minute from the late-January gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee indicated that a rate increase next month is likely. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 167 points to close at 24,798, the S&P 500 index lost 15 points to finish at 2,701 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 16 points to settle at 7,218.
The European markets oscillated between small gains and losses throughout Wednesday’s session and concluded the session on a mixed note. Germany’s DAX lost 0.14%, CAC 40 of France rose 0.23% and the FTSE 100 of the UK gained 0.48%.