Markets likely to open in the red

Indian markets are expected to open in the red today tracking SGX Nifty which is down by 0.36%. The SGX Nifty suggests that the Nifty could open at 10,521, lower by 38 points at the opening bell.   

The core sector growth for the month of November 2017 came in at a healthy 6.8%. The growth was driven by steel and cement, which grew at 16.6% and 17.3%, respectively. However, it needs to be remembered that the core sector growth during November 2016 was hit by demonetisation.  

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has surged 472 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has risen 25 points. Japan’s Nikkei was closed on account of holiday. 

Back home, the inaugural session of the calendar year 2018 saw a soft start and, thereafter, the markets oscillated in a tight band. However, a sharp sell-off in the last hour of trade dragged the markets significantly lower. The broader indices ended on a mixed note as Nifty Mid-Cap index slipped 0.11%, whereas the Small-Cap index gained 0.94%. Sector-wise, barring Nifty Realty, all other sectoral indices ended in the red. To conclude, Nifty plunged 95 points to settle at 10,436 and the BSE Sensex lost 244 points to close at 33,813.  

The US stock markets were closed on Monday on account of New Year’s Day. 

All the major European stock markets were also closed on Monday.