Markets may open on a positive note

Key benchmark indices are expected to open with modest gains. The SGX Nifty indicating that the Nifty could open higher by 31 points around 10,588 at the opening bell.  

Majority of stock markets in Asia are closed on account of Lunar New Year.  The Japanese stock market is advancing on Friday, following the overnight strong leads from Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index has surged 234 points.   

Back home, benchmark indices witnessed a gap-up opening and continued their rally in the first half of the session as the WPI inflation eased to six-month low of 2.84% in January. However, in the second half of the session, the market cooled off from higher levels as selling pressure in the PSU banking stocks dragged the index lower. In the end, indices recovered from the lower levels and ended the day in the green territory. The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices as Nifty Mid-cap and Nifty Small-cap lot 1.11% and 1.52%, respectively.  

In the US, the stocks extended their recent winning streak to five sessions. The Dow closed above the 25,000-mark on Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks. The US Labour Department said the producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.4% in January in line with economists' estimates. The Dow Jones climbed 307 points to close at 25,200, Nasdaq jumped 113 points to finish at 7,256 and the S&P 500 spiked 33 points to settle at 2,731.    

The European markets on Thursday edged higher. The CAC 40 of France rose 1.11% and Germany’s DAX added 0.06%. The FTSE 100 of the UK gained 0.29%.  Automakers showed good performance in Thursday trading session as report indicated Europe’s car registrations rebounded in the month of January.