Markets may open flat, await Karnataka poll results with bated breath

Indian shares look set to open flat to negative as the exit polls ahead of the actual counting in Karnataka assembly polls have not given a very decisive picture. If the consensus forecast of all the exit polls are considered, the results appear to be veering towards a hung assembly in Karnataka. The actual counting in Karnataka will begin on Tuesday. Market participants will also keep a close watch on key macroeconomic parameters WPI and CPI numbers slated to be released later in the day. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could open marginally lower below the neutral line at 10,818.  

Most of the equity markets in Asia are trading higher in early trading on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is leading the way climbing up 1.40%, followed by China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei 225 which have gained 0.35% and 0.19%, respectively. 

Back home, after taking a day’s breather, bulls made a strong comeback on Friday. Both the key indices Sensex and Nifty closed above their important psychological marks of 35,500 and 10,800, respectively. Broader indices failed to follow their frontline counterparts and ended on a mixed note as the Nifty Mid-cap rose 0.43% and Nifty Small-cap lost 0.32%. Moving to sectoral performance, Nifty Metal and Nifty Financial Services surged 1.19% and 1.12%, respectively. Other sectors such as Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Bank accumulated decent gains. On the flip side, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty ended lower. 

In the US, the stock markets closed the last trading session of the week on a quiet note as the stocks showed a lack of direction. At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 92 points higher at 24,831; the gain marked the Dow’s seventh straight positive session, its longest winning streak since November 2017. The S&P 500 added 5 points to finish at 2,728 and the Nasdaq closed marginally lower by 2 points to end the day at 7,403. 

The European markets displayed mixed performance on Friday. The DAX of Germany slipped 0.20%, the CAC 40 of France edged down by 0.10% and the FTSE 100 of UK rose by 0.30%.