Markets may see positive opening following encouraging cues from Asian peers

Indian markets are expected to open in the green on the back of stable cues from the Asian peers and the late rally which was seen on Wall Street which helped to erase majority of the day’s losses. The SGX Nifty Index Future trading with gains of 66 points indicate Nifty may open around 10,690 level.  
  
Stock markets in Asia are trading with modest gains on the back strong recovery seen on the Wall Street from the lower levels overnight. China’s Shanghai Composite index has gained 0.18 per cent, Japanese stock market Nikkei 225 has added 0.10 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has edged up 0.01 per cent.  
  
Back home, Thursday turned out to be a terrible day for the markets as the benchmark indices lost over one-and-half per cent. After beginning the day with a gap-down, the markets remained under pressure throughout the day. Nifty ended the day at 10,601 and the BSE Sensex closed at 35,312. In line with the frontline indices, the broader indices plummeted with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap ending lower by 1.62 and 1.74 per cent, respectively. Talking about the sectoral performance, none of the sectors were spared by the bears. Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto were the top losers.  
  
After witnessing a sharp drop early in the session, the US stocks clawed back and ended the day on a mixed note with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing into positive territory. Early weakness on Wall Street was seen as uneasiness on the US-China trade front was exacerbated by the arrest of Chinese leading smartphone and communications equipment maker Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada which appeared to add to the uncertainty regarding a permanent trade deal between the two largest economies. In the economic news, the US trade deficit widened to its highest level in ten years in the month of October and the ADP Employment Change report showed private sector payrolls rose less-than-expected in the month of November. On other hand, the ISM said its non-manufacturing index crept up to 60.7 in November, which is much better than expectation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.32 per cent and the S&P 500 lost 0.15 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.42 per cent.  
  
The European markets turned into a sea of red on Thursday owing to the sharp fall in oil prices that raised the spectre of a slowdown in growth and uncertainty over the fate of Brexit after Theresa May lost a vote and will have to give greater powers to the UK parliament. Also, concerns over the trade tensions between the US and China following arrest of CFO of Huawei Technologies contributed to downfall. The DAX of Germany plunged 3.48 per cent, the CAC of France lost 3.32 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 tumbled 3.58 per cent.