Markets may take a breather after the hectic run

After a scintillating rally on Thursday, the early action in the SGX Nifty suggests that on the last trading day of the fiscal year, Indian markets may take a breather in early trading. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading at 11,646, down by 23 points.  

Asian markets are trading mostly positive on final trading session of the week on the back of reports indicating progress in the US-China trade talks. The Japanese stock market Nikkei has rallied 0.63 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has gained 0.07 per cent.

Back home, the bulls packed a punch on the expiry day of the March derivative session and ended the session on a cheerful note. After opening the session on a positive note, market indices built upon early gains and settled the session near the day’s high. Nifty registered a triple digit gain and closed above the 11,550 mark and the BSE Sensex staged a quadruple century to close above the 38,500 mark. In line with the benchmark indices, the broader markets rallied with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap gaining 1.03 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, barring Nifty Metal, all other sectors ended in the green, with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media being the show-stoppers, climbing over 3 per cent each.

The US stocks ended Thursday session with modest gains as reports suggested that the world’s two largest economies are making progress in the ongoing trade talks. In the economic news, initial jobless claims came in lower than expected, which was offset by GDP data which slowed by more than estimated in the fourth quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.36 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index added 0.34 per cent and the S&P 500 index rose 0.36 per cent.

European stock markets ended Thursday’s session on a mixed note. In economic news, Eurozone’s economic sentiment declined at a faster than expected pace in March. On the Brexit front, the UK parliament will vote on Friday on Theresa May’s Brexit deal for a third and possibly the final time. The DAX of Germany and the UK’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.08 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively, while the CAC 40 of France shed 0.09 per cent.