Markets may begin on a cautious note amid geopolitical concerns

The outlook for the day is a cautious start as the SGX Nifty is seen hovering around the neutral line at the time of writing. The mood on Dalal Street looks nervous and edgy as geopolitical concerns are seen as key impetus keeping the market participants on the backfoot. 
  
The Asian markets are marginally up on Tuesday morning. China’s Shanghai Composite index has surged 0.30 per cent, Hong Kong’s stock index Hang Seng has advanced 0.10 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading near neutral line. 
  
Back home, despite opening the session with an uptick, the benchmark indices could not sustain in the positive zone and fell sharply as the day progressed. With this, the indices extended their southward journey for the seventh straight session on Monday. The BSE Sensex dropped 0.87 per cent to 35,498 and the Nifty lost 0.78 per cent to 10,641. The selling pressure was seen in the broader markets as well, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap losing 0.93 per cent and 0.98 per cent, respectively. Talking about sectoral performance, barring Nifty Realty and Nifty Media, all other indices ended in the red, with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty FMCG ending as the top losers. 
  
The US financial markets were closed on Monday in observance of Presidents Day.  
  
The European stocks ended Monday’s session on a mixed note. The action was subdued in the absence of any major trigger from the Wall Street. The DAX of Germany closed almost unchanged, the CAC 40 of France added about 0.30 per cent, while the FTSE 100 of the UK dipped about 0.24 per cent.