Markets may begin flat despite positive global cues

The outlook for the day is a flat start and indices could swing in a range during the day. At the time of writing, SGX was trading with modest losses of 14 points at 11,042 level. It's quite evident from the price action that the markets are in a 'sell on rise' mode as pullback rallies are being utilised to book profits. Technically, Nifty needs to sustain above the 200-DMA (11,184) hurdle only then bulls could march with confidence till then cautiousness would continue to prevail on the D-Street. 

Asian stock indices were trading in green on Tuesday following strong close on Wall Street, overnight. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has added 0.41 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat and the China's Shanghai Composite Index was marginally higher by 0.07 per cent.

Back home, in line with cheerful global peers, the key benchmark indices started off the week on a positive note and then extended its lead in the first half of trading session. But, selling emerged in the penultimate hour of the session and as a result indices erased almost all the gains before closing with modest gains. The BSE Sensex added 0.14 per cent to 37,402 and the Nifty edged up 0.06 per cent to 11,504. The broader market indices outperformed the frontline gauges as Nifty Midcap and Smallcap advanced 0.29 and 0.46 per cent, respectively. The sectoral indices exhibited mixed trend with Nifty Pharma, Nifty Media and Nifty Realty among the top gainers, on the flipside, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto were top losers.

The US stocks extended their winning streak for the second straight session on Monday on the back of recovery in global bond yields as well as optimism of global stimulus. Additionally, reports indicated that the US government has extended the time that Chinese technology firm Huawei could buy supplies from the US companies adding to the bullish sentiment. To end, the Dow soared 1 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed closed higher by 1.4 per cent.  

The European markets posted strong gains on Monday as reports emerged that Germany is preparing a fiscal stimulus plan to combat slowing economic growth. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended up 1.32 and 1.34 per cent, respectively. The UK's FTSE 100 has surged 1.02 per cent.