Flat start with negative bias likely amid negative global cues

The outlook for the day is a flat start with a slight negative bias. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty was trading lower by 31 points at 11,398. Nifty for the first time has corrected more than 61.8 per cent of the prior rally since October 2018. The intermediate and minor trends are tilted in favour of the bears. Technically, the next support zone is placed at 11,300-11,320 levels. The bulls needs to pull a rabbit out of their hats and change the sentiment on the D-Street, which has gone from bad to worse. Some of the crucial earnings for the day are Can Fin Homes, Just Dial, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TVS Motor and United Spirits.

A majority of the Asian stock markets are trading lower on Monday following negative cues from the Wall Street on Friday. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has slipped 0.29 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite index has declined 0.71 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has shed 0.66 per cent.   

Back home, the key equity benchmark indices witnessed a bloodbath on Friday with the BSE Sensex crashing by over 500 points, while the Nifty sinking below the 11,450 mark. The losses in the domestic markets were seen despite the positive global cues. It was the second consecutive week of losses for the BSE Sensex and Nifty. The fall in broader indices was scarier as Nifty Midcap and Smallcap dropped 2.15 per cent and 1.78 per cent, respectively. All the sectoral indices ended the day in the red with Nifty Auto leading the fall, followed by Nifty Media and Nifty Private Bank. The India VIX shot up over 6 per cent.

The US stocks pared initial gains and turned lower on Friday on the back of mixed corporate earnings reports, mounting tension in the Middle East and ambiguity about the Federal Reserve’s next move.  In the end, the Dow fell 69 points, S&P 500 dipped 19 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 61 points.  

The stock markets in the European region eked out some modest gains on Friday. Germany’s DAX added 0.26 per cent, France’s CAC 40 and UK’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.03 per cent and 0.21 per cent, respectively.