Markets may open flat with a positive bias amid positive global cues

Indian equity benchmark indices are likely to open the new week on a flat note with a positive bias. The market participants will monitor the earning season which starts this week and that will be a key trigger for the markets. Also, the big event of the general election starts this week with the first round of polling on April 11. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was trading around 11,776 level, up by 3 points.  

Majority of Asian markets were trading in the green on Monday following positive leads from the Wall Street on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index has risen 0.89 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has climbed 0.36 per cent, while the Japanese stock market Nikkei is trading flat with a negative bias.

Back home, the final trading session of the week started on a positive note and, thereafter, the indices traded in a capped range for a major part of the trading session. However, the hectic activity  in the last leg of trading helped the equity benchmark indices to end Friday's session around the day’s high with BSE Sensex and Nifty reclaiming their crucial psychological marks of 38,800 and 11,650, respectively. The broader indices outperformed the frontliners with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap advancing 0.82 per cen and 1 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, barring Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty FMCG, all other indices ended in the green, with Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty IT ending as top gainers.

On the Wall Street, major stock indices closed the week on a positive note and marked best closing levels in about six months following a favourable monthly employment report. The US labour department reported that non-farm payrolls rose by 196,000 in March, which was above expectation. The Dow Industrial Average added 0.15 per cent, S&P 500 index rose 0.46 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended up by 0.59 per cent.

European markets ended Friday’s session higher, though the upside in the markets remained limited on the back of concerns about the Eurozone economy. The France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.23 per cent, the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.61 per cent and the DAX of Germany surged 0.18 per cent.