Markets may open on a positive note following upbeat cues from global peers

Indian equities markets are expected to continue their positive momentum in early deals on the back of optimistic cues from the global peers. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty to open with a gap-up at 10,978, up by 0.53 per cent. The index bellwether Reliance Industries is likely to be in focus with it latest quarter results as it becomes the first Indian company to scale Rs 10,000 crore quarterly profits. Major earnings on tap for today will be ICICI GI, LTI, NIIT Tech, SBI Life, Wipro.   
  
Asian markets are seen advancing on the final trading session of the week, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street after a report from the Wall Street Journal said that the US was considering lifting Chinese tariffs to hasten a  deal. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has jumped 1.34 per cent, Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng has advanced 0.98 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite index has surged 0.74 per cent.  
  
Back home, after a firm start, key indices witnessed a roller-coaster ride and turned volatile, and in the last leg of trading, indices witnessed a sharp rebound to close the day in the green on Thursday. The BSE Sensex rose 0.15 to 36,374 and the Nifty added 0.14 per cent to close at 10,905. The broader indices saw a divergent trend as both Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap ended with losses of by 0.28 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively. Sectorally, it was mixed performance with Nifty Realty gaining the most, while, Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pharma losing the most.  
  
The US stocks were seen trading lacklustre for a major part of the session; however, the stocks got a late boost from a Wall Street Journal report which said the US is considering lifting tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to calm markets and give Beijing an incentive to make higher concessions. Also, the upbeat jobless claims report and better-than-expected data on regional manufacturing activity gave a boost. The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 0.67 per cent to 24,370, the S&P 500 index soared 0.76 per cent to 2,636 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.71 per cent to 7,084.  
  
European indices ended mostly lower on Thursday, weighed down by uncertainty over Brexit. The DAX of Germany declined by 0.12 per cent; the CAC of France dipped 0.34 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK edged down 0.4 per cent.