Markets expected to open higher amid positive global cues

Indian equity benchmarks, after registering their best week since November, look set to continuing their jubilant run at the start of the week as global cues are supportive and Asian markets are mostly trading higher. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading with gain of 23 points at 11,497.

Majority of Asian indices were buoyant on Monday on hopes that the trade war and the Brexit impasse may get sorted, led by a strong close on the Wall Street on Friday. The Japanese stock market Nikkei has advanced 0.57 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has added 0.55 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite index has gained 0.52 per cent.

Back home, frontline indices extended their gains for the fifth session on Friday with BSE Sensex surpassing its crucial 38,000 mark and Nifty 11,400 level. After a firm start, frontline indices moved higher, but in the last leg of trading, frontline indices trimmed some of their gains as traders preferred to take profit off the table ahead of the weekend. Divergent trends were seen in the broader markets with Nifty Midcap adding 0.65 per cent, while Nifty Small-cap losing 0.50 per cent. Talking about the sectoral performance, barring Nifty FMCG and Realty, all other sectoral indices ended in the green, with Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank leading the gainers.

The US stocks closed the last day of the week in the positive terrain brushing aside some uninspiring economic data.  The strength on Wall Street came as market participants continued to look on the brighter side of the US and China trade imbroglio. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 0.54 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite index surged 0.76 per cent and S&P 500 index advanced 0.50 per cent.  

European equities closed the final trading session of the week higher amid reports suggesting progress on US-China trade talks and easing of concerns on Brexit. The DAX of Germany ended stronger by 0.85 per cent, the CAC 40 jumped 1.04 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK rose 0.60 per cent.