Markets likely to start on a cautious note

Indian equity markets are expected to make soft-to-cautious start to the new week as cues from Asian peers are mixed. The SGX Nifty indicates that the Nifty could open at 10,920, up by 6 points at the opening bell.  

Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Dewan Housing Finance, GNFC, Havells India, Just Dial, Rallis India, Sasken Technologies, Vakrangee, V-Guard and Tinplate are some of the key companies to announce their results today.  

The major indices in Asia were trading on a mixed note on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was in the red at 23,787, down by 0.09%, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index was at 32,247, down by 0.02%, while China’s Shanghai Composite was trading in the green at 3,489, up by 0.03%.  

Back home, Friday turned out to be a fabulous day of trading for equity benchmarks, with the BSE Sensex ending at a new high of 35,511 and the NSE index Nifty kissed the milestone of 10,900 first time ever and settled at 10,895. The key bourses made a cautious start and traded lacklustre for the first part of the session, but buying in the second half of the trading session lifted the markets to hit all-time high levels. Buying interest was seen in the broader indices as well, the Nifty Mid-cap and the Small-cap indices rose 1% and 0.96%, respectively. All the sectoral indices ended in the positive zone. Among them, Nifty PSU Banks gained the most.   

In the US, the stock indices rose on Friday to finish the week on strong note, with traders shrugging off concerns about a potential shutdown. The gains on the day lifted the S&P and the tech-heavy Nasdaq to hit fresh all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 54 points to close at 26,072, the Nasdaq Composite index surged 40 points to settle at 7,336 and the S&P 500 advanced 12 points to finish at 2,810.  

Europe’s markets ended the trading session on Friday in the green. The DAX of Germany climbed 1.15%, CAC 40 of France ended higher by 0.58% and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose 0.39%.