Markets may open on a positive note despite negative cues from Asian peers

Indian stocks are likely to open flat to slightly higher on Thursday as cues from Asian peers are not encouraging. The trend in SGX Nifty indicates a modest positive opening to the session and Nifty could open up by 28 points around 10,904 level. The stocks of TCS and Bandhan Bank will be in the limelight as they will announce their quarterly earnings today.  
  
Asian markets are trading in the red on Thursday despite positive cues overnight from the Wall Street. China’s December CPI number came in below expectations. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has lost 1.40 per cent, followed by Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng which has shed 0.69 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has dipped 0.01 per cent.   
  
Back home, the bulls continued to dominate as the benchmark indices extended their rally for the fourth straight day on Wednesday. After opening on a positive note, benchmark indices witnessed high volatility during the day; however, the last hour buying helped the indices to end near the day’s high. The BSE Sensex gained 0.64 per cent to close at 36,213 and the Nifty ended higher by 0.49 per cent at 10,855. The broader markets ended in the red, with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap ending lower by 0.07 and 0.22 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Banks gained the most, while Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Banks ended as top losers.   
  
The US equities opened higher and maintained their gains through much of the afternoon, before paring some of their gains in the final hour of the session, as talks to reopen the government broke down. The FOMC released minutes from its December meeting, which indicated that the Federal Reserve can afford to be patient about future rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.39 per cent to close at 23,879, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.41 per cent to finish at 2,585 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.87 per cent to end at 6,957.   
  
The European equities rallied on Wednesday as the US-China trade talks concluded, giving fresh hope to the global markets. The economic was mixed with the Eurozone unemployment rate falling to the lowest number in a decade, while the German exports slipped by a slightly smaller amount than anticipated. The DAX of Germany jumped 0.83 per cent; the CAC of France gained 0.84 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK increased 0.66 per cent.