Markets may open in the red tracking weak global cues

Indian markets are expected to open lower as leads from the global markets are weak. The SGX Nifty is indicating that the Nifty could open down by 58 points around 10,504 at the opening bell. A slew of key data,  including Nikkei Indian Manufacturing PMI for February and GDP numbers, are going to be released today and traders will keep a close watch on these.  

It is a sea of red for the Asian shares on Wednesday; following a slump in the US stocks overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has shed 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.97% and China’s Shanghai Composite has plunged 0.94%.  

Back home, markets opened the session with a gap-up but selling pressure emerged at higher levels and, as a result, the indices remained under pressure for the remaining part of the day. Nifty ended the session with a loss of 28 points to close at 10,554 and the BSE Sensex slipped 99 points to end the day at 34,346. The broader indices underperformed the benchmark indices as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap lost 0.87% and 0.31%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT ended the day in the green with modest gains of 0.31% and 0.26%, respectively. On other hand, Nifty PSU Banks emerged as a top loser as it plunged 3.49%.   

The US stocks came under pressure on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 index recording its worst single session drop since early February. The yield for the 10-year treasury note climbed to 2.90% following Powell’s testimony. Powell’s remarks before the committee were interpreted by some as signifying that the Fed may raise rates more than three times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 299 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 91 points and the S&P 500 plummeted 35 points.    

The European markets lacked direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday and ended the day with modest losses. Germany’s DAX dipped 0.29%, CAC 40 of France fell 0.01% and the UK FTSE 100 slipped 0.10%.