Markets may begin firm on the back of positive global cues

A firm start is in the offing for the Indian markets tracking positive global cues. The bullish trend in the SGX Nifty suggests that the Nifty could open higher by 45 points at 11,523.  
  
Most Asian markets started off the week on a positive note on the back of higher close on the Wall Street. Barring Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index, all other indices are in the green. Hong Kong stock market Hang Seng has rallied 0.76 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite has risen 0.21 per cent. On the other hand, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has dipped 0.18 per cent.  
  
Back home, the last trading session of the week turned out to be a magnificent one for the markets with the key benchmark indices reversing previous session’s losses and ending above their crucial levels of 11,450 (Nifty) and 37,900 ( Sensex) . After opening the session on a positive note, indices traded the entire session in a very tight range. The broader indices outperformed the frontline indices with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap gaining 1.15 per cent and 0.98 per cent, respectively. Talking about sectors, all the sectoral indices ended in the green with Nifty PSU Banks gaining the most by 3.02 per cent, followed by Nifty FMCG and Nifty Metal.  

On Friday, the US stocks eked out gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at its best closing level in nearly six months. Buying was seen on the back of reports suggesting that Chinese and US negotiators are mapping out a road map for talks to try to end their trade standoff ahead of the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart XI Jinping at the multilateral summits in November. Meanwhile, in the economic news, the University of Michigan released a report showing an  unexpected  notable deterioration in the US consumer sentiment in the month of August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points to close at 25,669; the S&P 500 inched up 9 points to finish at 2,850 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 10 points to end at 7,817.  
  
The European indices closed the Friday session’s on a mixed note. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.22 per cent; CAC 40 of France dipped 0.08 per cent, while, the UK’s FTSE 100 ended up by 0.03 per cent.