Positive opening likely following firm cues from Asian markets
Indian benchmark indices look set to open higher on Friday tracking firm cues from Asian peers. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty is likely to open around 10,938 with gains of 52 points. DHFL, Gruh Finance, GSFC, Indian Bank, L&T, M&M Financial, Maruti are some of key companies reporting their earnings today.
Asian equity markets were trading with optimism on Friday following the higher close on the Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng has jumped 1.38 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has climbed 1.02 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has gained 0.62 per cent.
Back home, markets saw a cautious start and, thereafter, it oscillated between the green and red zones frequently. However, the market saw a recovery in the last leg of trading and ended Thursday's session with modest gain. The BSE Sensex rose 0.24 per cent to 36,195 and the Nifty gained 0.17 per cent to close at 10,850. The broader indices ended in the red terrain with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap losing 0.34 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, it was a mixed day with Nifty Realty, Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank being top gainers, while Nifty Auto and Nifty Pharma being top losers.
The US stocks ended Thursday's session mostly higher as early buoyancy following some positive earnings came up against concerns about US-China trade deal as US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross stated that the two countries were not close to striking a deal. The news on the economic front was mixed as the Leading index fell and the manufacturing data improved and jobless claims decreased to their lowest levels since November 1969. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.09 per cent, while the S&P 500 Index added 0.14 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.68 per cent.
The equity markets in Europe ended Thursday’s session on a mixed note, after the European Central Bank (ECB) left its monetary policy stance unchanged, while mentioning concerns over slower growth. In economic news, Eurozone PMI data was weak. The DAX of Germany advanced 0.53 per cent, the CAC of France rose 0.65 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK declined 0.35 per cent.