Negative start likely amid weak global cues

Indian benchmark indices seem to be running out of luck for now as indices have logged three straight sessions of losses. In the early indication from the SGX Nifty, it seems the index will extended its southward movement in opening bell as at the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading lower by 13 points at 10,857. The good news is that as a gesture of peace, Pakistan is releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. But this positive development on the border front will be overshadowed by disappointment on the macro front. The growth of eight core sectors slowed down to 1.8 per cent in January and India’s GDP grew at a five-quarter low rate of 6.6 per cent in Q3. Going forward, the auto stocks will garner the attention of the investors as February auto sales number will start coming in from today. 
 
Majority of the Asian markets were trading in the red on Friday following negative leads from the Wall Street overnight. Also, a private survey showed that Chinese factory activity shrunk to a three-year low in February. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has moved lower 0.79 per cent, Hong Kong’s stock index Hang Seng has shed 0.43 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has added 0.29 per cent. 
 
Back home, the equity benchmark indices started Thursday’s session on a strong note. However, the indices faced resistance at higher levels and soon pared all their opening gains. Thereafter, the benchmark indices traded in a narrow range, but in the later part of the session, bouts of volatility were seen. As a result, Nifty slipped below the 10,800 mark and BSE Sensex lost 0.11 per cent to close below 35,900 mark. The broader markets continued their outperformance with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap gaining 0.45 per cent and 0.77 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT ended as a top loser, while Nifty Realty, Nifty Media and Nifty Metal ended as top gainers.  
 
The US stocks ended Thursday’s session with modest losses, as a stronger-than-expected Q4 GDP report was eclipsed as the summit between North Korea and the US was cut short without a deal. The Dow fell 69 points, the Nasdaq lost 22 points and the S&P 500 dipped 8 points. 
 
European equities ended mixed on Thursday as geopolitical concerns flared up after an abrupt end to a summit between North Korea and the US, while some disappointed earnings reports added fire to the fuel. The DAX of Germany added 0.25 per cent and the CAC 40 gained 0.29 per cent down, while the FTSE 100 of the UK ended down 0.46 per cent.