Markets may open flat amid negative global cues

The sharp rally in the markets at the start of the week took the Nifty to close above the crucial psychological 11,800 mark for the first time. Even the midcap and smallcap stocks participated in the smart upswing. Now the big question is: Will the Nifty scale past its all-time high level of 11,856? The outlook for the day is a flat start as the global cues are not supportive. There was heavy selling across the US and European markets on account of the worsening trade situation and the escalating Middle-East crisis. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was up by 6 points at 11,871. The quarterly numbers on tap are Bharat Financial Inclusion, Crompton and DLF.  

A majority of the Asian markets were trading in the negative terrain following lower closing on the Wall Street overnight. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has lost 0.50 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has declined 0.42 per cent.  

Back home, the bulls hit a hat-trick of gains on Monday as equity benchmarks settled at record closing highs. The sentiment remained buoyed by the prospect of a stable government after the exit poll results predicted the return of the BJP-led NDA to power. The Nifty jumped 421 points to close at 11,828 and BSE Sensex soared 1,422 points to settle at 39,353. Hectic buying was seen in the broader indices and the broader indices outperformed the frontline gauges, with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap surging 4.07 per cent and 4.61 per cent, respectively. Buying was witnessed across-the-board, wherein Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Realty, Nifty Financial Service, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank posted exceptional gains.

The US stocks ended the first trading session of the week in the red amid ongoing concerns about the escalating US-China trade dispute after Google parent Alphabet suspended its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei. The tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts as it plunged 1.5 per cent, while the Dow Jones fell 0.3 per cent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.7 per cent.

The European markets were under selling pressure on Monday with the technology sector leading the downslide as the rising trade tensions between the world's two largest economies continued to hamper the stocks and the sector. The Germany’s benchmark DAX tumbled 1.61 per cent, France’s CAC 40 index dropped 1.46 per cent and UK’s FTSE ended lower by 0.51 per cent.