Markets to open with modest gains

The start to the fresh week is likely to be on a flat note for the Indian markets, as early cues from SGX Nifty indicates that markets may open with modest gains of 16 points at 12,398 levels. Last week, the bulls lacked that gush after a strong start, despite hitting all-time highs, as we approached the end of the week. The slow grinding march to the top is reason enough to be cautious. Jumping in at such a time could be perilous. A sudden catch up with the fundamentals could throw up a difficult situation given the way corporate results are panning out, inflation is inching up and, with this, the hopes of rate cut are dashed. Today, market participants may react to corporate earnings of index pivotal, including Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and TCS, which were announced post market hour on Friday and throughout the weekend. For today, a total of over 20 corporates, including Kotak Bank and Just Dial, are scheduled to announce their earnings for the quarter.

The Asian markets are trading mixed this morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and China’s Shanghai composite are trading higher by almost a quarter per cent. Meanwhile Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading soft as it trades below the flat line.

Back home, key benchmark indices ended near the neutral line after a volatile session on Friday. The BSE Sensex added 0.03 per cent while Nifty dipped 0.03 per cent to close above the 12,350 mark. The broader markets continued to outperformed the headline indices, with Nifty Midcap and Small-cap rallying 0.49 and 0.27 per cent, respectively. Talking about the sectoral performance, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Auto were the top gainers. On the flipside, Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, and Nifty Metal were the top losers.

Let us now look at How did global markets fared out on the last session of the week. The US markets reached to new record closing highs and posted weekly gains for the second week in a row. The sentiment on Wall Street remained upbeat, as housing increased to an annualized rate of 1.6 million units for December, surpassing estimates of analysts. Meanwhile, industrial production slipped 0.3 per cent in December, which was below the street expectation, hence, the up move remained under check. At the closing bell, the Dow was up by 50 points, the S&P 500 edged up 13 points, and Nasdaq surged 30 points. European indices too ended in green on the back of the favorable Chinese economic data.