Positive opening likely amid steady cues from Asian peers

The early trend in the SGX Nifty is indicating a green opening for the Indian markets. At the time of writing, SGX was up by 50 points trading at the 10,947 level. Indian markets were closed on Thursday on the eve of Independence Day (15th August) holiday. On August 14, there was a complete bloodshed in the global markets, especially in the US markets, as investors were spooked by the yield-curve inversion. However, sentiments were seen stabilizing on the Wall Street and there was steady trading in Asian markets on Friday. Also, if reports are to be believed, then soon there may be a cheerful announcement for the bulls as the reports indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to solve the jigsaw puzzle of the limping economy and soon a slew of announcements would be done to counter the economic slowdown and boost FPIs participation in the Indian markets which were seen in a selling spree.

A majority of the Asian stock indices were trading in the green on Friday. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has advanced 0.09 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has risen 0.46 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has gained 0.82 per cent.

Back home, Wednesday turned out to be a wonderful session for the bulls as key benchmark indices logged gains of about a per cent and ended the session above their crucial psychological levels of 11,000 (Nifty) and 37,300 (Sensex). The key catalyst for the bulls were US President Donald Trump’s decision to delay some import taxes planned to impose on Chinese goods and, further, the benign inflation gives room for more rate cuts by the RBI. The broader market indices ended in the green as well, with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap surging 1.05 per cent and 0.67 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, barring Nifty Pharma, all other sectors ended with gains, with Nifty Media and Nifty Metal ending as top gainers.

The US stocks ended Thursday's session on a mixed note a day after the markets suffered their worst day of the year. The Dow registered gain of 0.4 per cent on the back of strong retail sales and earnings from Walmart, the S&P 500 added .25 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.09 per cent.  

The European equities closed lower on Thursday amid bond yield curve inversions fuelled by fears of global recession. Germany’s DAX lost 0.70 per cent, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.27 per cent and UK’s FTSE 100 tumbled 1.13 per cent.