Markets may open in the red tracking negative global cues

Indian markets are likely to open lower on Friday, mirroring global cues which saw Asian markets trading in the red. The SGX Nifty is indicating that the Nifty may open lower by 43 points at 10,663.   

Most Asian indices were down on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has plunged by 223 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has dipped 7 points, while Japanese market is closed for a public holiday.    

Back home, the benchmark indices extended losses for the second straight session on Thursday. After a muted start, the indices slipped lower and made the day’s low in the afternoon session. However, the indices recouped their losses in the second half of the trading session and ended the session with modest losses. The Nifty closed below 10,700 mark with a loss of 38 points and the BSE Sensex closed at 35,103, down by 73 points. Selling was more intense in the broader indices as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap plunged 1.06% and 0.93%, respectively. On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal had a great outing as it gained about 0.76%, while Nifty IT and Nifty Realty witnessed selling pressure.   

The US stocks closed mixed on Thursday, although the major indices pared their losses considerably. The Dow erased a triple digit intra-day drop to end the day with a gain of 5 points at 23,930, but the Nasdaq slipped 13 points to close at 7,088 and the S&P edged down 6 points to finish at 2,630. Traders will watch out for a report on non-farm payrolls due on Friday.      

The European equities ended lower on Thursday on reports of an unexpected dip in Eurozone inflation. The Eurozone inflation surprisingly weakened in April, raising questions about the European Central Bank’s proposal to scale back its bond-buying stimulus programme. The DAX of Germany lost 0.88%, CAC 40 of France dropped 0.50%, while FTSE 100 of the UK fell 0.54%.