Markets may see subdued opening tracking negative cues from Asian peers

The cautious cues from Asian peers and the SGX Nifty in early action is indicating a subdued opening for the Indian markets. Markets may see a seesaw around the breakeven line in the early part of the trading session and then turn volatile as the day progresses. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty is trading 33 points lower at 10,770 mark. The market participants will be looking forward to the release of wholesale price index (WPI) inflation data for January due today. Also, drawing investors’ attention in today’s trading would be the earnings of Voltas, UBL, KSCL, ONGC, Page Industries, IFCI, Ashok Leyland and Jet Airways. 
  
The stock indices in Asia are trading in the red on Thursday despite a decent close on the Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong’s stock index Hang Seng has lost 0.59 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite index has dipped 0.26 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat.   
  
Back home, key benchmark indices witnessed a gap-up opening and, thereafter, the indices moved in a capped range in the first-half of the trading session. However, in the second-half, the indices erased all of their gains and ended the session in the red on Wednesday. Nifty slipped below 10,800, down by 0.35 per cent and BSE Sensex shed 0.33 per cent to close at 36,034. The broader market indices ended with losses as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap lost 0.33 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, barring Nifty IT and Nifty Realty, all other sectoral indices ended in the red, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto lost the most. 
  
The US stocks extended their rally on Wednesday and marked their best closing levels in over two months. Some of the strength during the day was due to positivity that a deal between the US and China might soon be reached and another round of tariffs could be averted. In the economic news, consumer price index remained unchanged in January. The Dow Jones added 0.46 per cent, the Nasdaq gained 0.08 and S&P 500 advanced 0.30 per cent, respectively. 
  
The European equities finished higher on Wednesday amid optimism about a US-China trade deal. The DAX of Germany ended up by 0.37 per cent, the CAC 40 of France rose 0.35 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK surged 0.81 per cent. In the economic news, inflation in the UK fell to 1.8 per cent YoY in January, down from 2.1 per cent in December and Eurozone industrial production fell more than expected in January.