Markets may open in the red following negative global cues
Indian markets are likely to open lower on the back of pessimistic sentiments prevailing across Asian markets and as the US markets closed deep in the red overnight. Also, traders will prefer to remain light, ahead of the week-end. The IT stocks could be in focus today as some reports suggested that the Trump administration plans major changes in H1-B visa rules. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty may open around the level of 10,332, down by 49 points. Among Nifty 50 stocks, UltraTech Cement will report its earning today.
Markets in Asia were trading in the red on Friday as Wall Street saw a steep decline overnight and sentiments worsened further after China’s GDP growth for the third quarter of 2018 came in below expectations. In Asia, Japanese market Nikkei 225 is leading the fall, followed by China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng.
Back home, the markets opened the session with an upside gap owing to optimism seen across the Asian bourses early in the morning. However, it turned out to be a mere formality as we saw a sharp decline from the intra-day highs and the selling pressure intensified as the day progressed. Heavy sell-off was seen in the NBFCs and realty companies as worries over the liquidity position of home loan companies re-emerged after some reports indicated New Delhi-based Supertech Builder had defaulted. When all was said and done, Nifty plummeted 131 points to finish at 10,453 and the BSE Sensex edged down 383 points to close at 34,780. The broader markets underperformed the benchmark with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ending with losses of 2.26 and 2.63 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT closed with marginal gains, while Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty were top losers.
The US stocks closed with heavy losses on Thursday after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced he will not attend an upcoming investment conference in Saudi Arabia and the minutes from the Fed meeting hinted at more rate hikes ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 327 points, the S&P 500 lost 40 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index slumped 158 points. In the economic news, initial jobless claims declined to 210,000 during the week of October 13, which was better-than-expected show and the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators advanced 0.5 per cent during the month of September, which was in line with the economists' estimates.
After oscillating between small gains and losses for the major part of the day, European markets witnessed sell-off in the last leg of trading on Thursday. The DAX of Germany declined 1.07 per cent, the CAC of France decreased 0.55 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.39 per cent.