Markets may open with a gap-down on negative global cues

Key Indian equity indices are likely to open with a gap on the lower side, tracking sell-off on the Wall Street as well as in the Asian markets, which are trading deep in the red. The SGX Nifty is pointing at Nifty opening with loss of 54 points at 10,566.    

Asian stock markets are reeling under selling pressure on Wednesday taking cues from the slump in the US stocks, which tanked overnight. Losses are led by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng which has dropped 1.16%, while Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 has lost 0.74% and the Chinese markets witnessing a cut of 0.60%.   

Back home, the markets ended modestly higher on Tuesday. The BSE Sensex ended the session at 34,617,  up by 166 points and the Nifty index gained 30 points to end above its key psychological mark of 10,600. The broader indices underperformed benchmark indices with the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap ending lower by 0.06% and 0.40%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty IT and Nifty Metal index emerged as top losers; metal stocks slumped on the back of fall in aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME). On the other hand, index pivotal Reliance Industries surged about 3.64%.  

US stocks witnessed bloodbath on Tuesday as traders remained concerned after the 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched the psychologically important 3% level for the first time since early 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 425 points to close at 24,025, the equity gauge finished lower for five straight sessions, the longest losing stretch since March 2017. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 121 points to finish at 7,007, extending losses for a fourth straight session, its long streak since February 2018 and the S&P 500 slipped 36 points to end at 2,635.  

The European stock indices ended Tuesday’s session with mixed results. Markets across European started off on a positive note; however, the markets began to pare gains in the later part of the session following negative leads from the Wall Street. Going ahead, market participants look forward to Thursday’s policy decision from the European Central Bank. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.17%, CAC 40 of France added 0.10% and the FTSE 100 of UK finished higher by 0.36%.