Positive start likely for the markets

The key benchmark indices are likely to open on optimistic note, following overnight gains on Wall Street. The SGX Nifty indicates that the Nifty could open up by 84 points at 10,550 at the opening bell.  

Some key macroeconomic data were released post market on Monday. For the month of December 2017, the IIP came in at 7.1% compared to a more impressive 8.4% in the previous month. The CPI inflation for January 2018 came in at 5.07%, slightly lower than the 5.21% reported in December 2017.  

Allahabad Bank, Apollo Hospital, Cox & Kings, Dena Bank, Godrej Industries, Grasim Industries, Jet Airways, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Nestle India, Repco Home Finance, Sunteck Realty, Tata Power and Welspun Enterprises are some of the key companies to announce their results today.  

The stock markets in Asia on Wednesday are trading mixed in the early session. The Japanese stock market was down by 135 points with the yen trading close to a five-month high. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index has gained 188 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite is trading down by 7 points.  

Back home, markets opened the session with a gap-up and. thereafter, markets traded sideways for better part of the session. However, in the last leg of the session, markets moved up and closed near about the upper range of the day. The BSE Sensex settled at 34,300, up by 0.87%, while Nifty gained 0.81% to close at 10,540. The broader indices continued their winning streak and outperformed the benchmark indices. Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap rose 1.40% and 1.79%, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT ended the day in the red, shedding 0.56%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, which lost 0.22%.  

The US stocks, after an initial setback, turned higher as the day progressed and ended the session in the positive territory on Tuesday. Going forward, traders will keep an eye on the release of reports on consumer prices and retail sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 39 points to close at 24,640, Nasdaq edged up 32 points to finish at 7,014 and the S&P 500 advanced 7 points to settle at 2,663.  

The European stocks ended Tuesday’s session with losses. The euro gained ground against the dollar and this rise in the currency put pressure on European exporters. Germany’s DAX lost 0.70%, CAC 40 of France fell 0.60% and the FTSE 100 of the UK slipped 0.13%.