Cautious start likely following subdued cues from Asian peers

This morning, Asian cues are bit subdued, perhaps in wait and watch mode as market participants shift their focus on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. SGX Nifty in early action is indicating a soft opening and, as the day progresses, markets are likely to seesaw within the range as it has been doing over the last week or so. A directional move is likely on the break of either side of the range of 11,770-12,000. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading lower by 24 points at 11,896 level. Market participants will keep a track on WPI inflation, which is scheduled to be released today.

Asian markets are trading with caution on the final trading session of the week following geopolitical risk arising in the aftermath of the tanker attacks near the Gulf of Oman. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has gained 0.27 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.0.49 per cent and the Kospi has shed 0.11 per cent.   

Back home, the frontline gauges opened the session on a cautious note and, as the day progressed, selling pressure intensified. However, in the last leg of trading, a V-shaped recovery was seen which trimmed majority of the losses. In the end, the indices ended the session on a flat note with Nifty ending up by 0.07 per cent and the BSE Sensex dipping by 0.04 per cent.  The broader market indices ended the session in the red with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap shedding 0.24 per cent and 0.63 per cent, respectively. A mixed trend was observed among the sectoral indices with Nifty Media and Nifty Financial Services ending as top gainers, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty IT ending as top losers.

The US stocks finished higher on Thursday, thereby snapping a two-day losing streak. The optimism on the Wall Street was seen on the back of initial jobless claims, which came in higher than expected. Based on this news, market participants believed in the likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the interest rates. The Dow advanced 0.4 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.6 per cent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent.

The European equities ended Thursday’s session in the green. France’s CAC 40 index and UK’s FTSE 100 closed just above the dotted line, while Germany’s DAX added 0.44 per cent.