US strikes on Syria may see gap-down opening for markets

Indian markets are expected open with a gap-down as a reaction to the US-led strikes on Syria carried out on late Friday evening. The strikes were a response to the alleged chemical attacks carried out by the Assad regime in Syria. The SGX Nifty is pointing that Nifty may open lower by 56 points at 10,447.  

Majority of Asian markets are trading in the red on Monday as markets reacted to the US military action over the weakened. Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 has gained 56 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 27 points and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slumped 325 points.  

Back home, benchmark indices rose for a seventh straight session on Friday, registering their longest winning streak since November 2017, on the back of gains in index pivotals such as Kotak Mahindra and Reliance Industries. The BSE Sensex registered gains of 92 points to end at 34,193 and Nifty settled at 10,481 with gains of 22 points. The broader indices outperformed the benchmark indices with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap adding 0.53% and 0.44%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT gained 0.95% and 0.70%, respectively.   

On the last trading session of the week, the US stocks failed to capitalise on an initial upward move. The initial strength on Wall Street came as investors reacted positively to earnings news from financial giant JP Morgan Chase. However, as the day progressed, the stock gave up its entire gains and ended with a deep cut. The financial sector was the worst-performing sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123 points to end at 24,360, the S&P 500 index slid 8 points to settle at 2,656 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 34 points to 7,107.  

European equities ended Friday’s session with modest gains. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.22%, CAC 40 of France added 0.11% and the FTSE 100 of UK rose 0.09%.