Markets may open flat following mixed cues from Asian peers

The key benchmark closed at record closing high on Monday and the indices are within striking distance from their all-time high levels. The mixed cues from the Asian peers in early trade and the SGX Nifty suggest that markets are likely to open flat with a negative bias. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was trading at 11,910, down by 13 points. However, if we look at the recent action on D-Street, it has decoupled from the global peers and did not even try to peep at what the other global markets were doing. Hence, we feel the markets may try to test their all-time high today as the bulls are carrying strong momentum along with the participation from the broader indices. The results to watch out for include Auropharma, IRB, IRCON, KSCL, Kolte Patil, Info Edge, NMDC, Pfizer, PNB and Sun Pharma

There is no clear direction in the Asian stocks on Tuesday morning as the US markets were closed for Memorial Day, hence the early action in the Asian markets is somewhat subdued. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has added 0.23 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI has dipped 0.24 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slipped 0.20 per cent.  

Back home, the bulls carried on their good form from the last trading session and started off the session on a positive bias. Thereafter, they went from strength to strength, but in the end, some profit-booking was seen at higher levels. However, the key benchmarks managed to pocket over half per cent gains and scaled to fresh record closing highs on Monday. The broader market indices continued to outperform the key benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap surging 1.67 per cent and 1.64 per cent, respectively. A majority of the sectoral indices ended in the green, with Nifty Realty, Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank soaring over 2 per cent, while Nifty Pharma, Nifty Media and Nifty IT ending as top losers.

The US stock markets were closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.  

The European equities ended Monday’s session in the green. Germany’s benchmark DAX rose 0.50 per cent, France’s CAC 40 index added 0.37 per cent, while the UK market was closed for Spring Bank Holiday.