Positive start likely for the markets

Indian shares are expected to make a flat to marginally positive start. The SGX Nifty indicates that the Nifty could open at 10,486 with gains of 17 points at the opening bell.   

Asian stock markets are mostly trading higher on Wednesday, tracking the overnight rally on Wall Street. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 176 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has risen 14 points.  

Back home, equity markets ended flat after witnessing a volatile trading session. The broader indices underperformed, with the Nifty Mid-cap index dropping 0.71% and Small-cap index falling 0.76%. Sector-wise, the Nifty Metal was the top performer followed by Nifty IT and Nifty Auto. To conclude, Nifty ended the session at 10,422 and the BSE Sensex settled at 33,812.   

The US stocks indices kicked off the inaugural session of the calendar year on a positive note on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending at record closings. The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished above the 7,000 landmark for the first time in its history. The Dow gained 105 points to finish at 24,824. The S&P 500 added 22 points to close at 2,696. The Nasdaq surged 104 points to end the day at 7,007.  

The European indices ended the first trading session of the new year on a dismal note. The CAC 40 of France dipped 0.45%, DAX of Germany shed 0.36% and FTSE 100 of the UK declined 0.52%.