Dull start likely despite positive cues from Asian peers

Indian markets are likely to start the session near the dotted line as at the time of writing SGX Nifty was trading marginally down by 6 points at 11,335. Among the results to watch are Eicher Motors, Canara Bank, LT, SBI, PVR, IDFC First Bank and Oberoi Realty. Market participants would also focus on IIP data, which is scheduled to be released today.

The stocks in Asia are seen advancing on the final trading session of the week, despite the increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent later in the day. Leading from the front is the China’s Shanghai Composite, which has surged over 2 per cent, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Japanese stock index Nikkei 225.  

Back home, the dominance of the bears continued on D-Street as key benchmark indices ended in the red for the seventh session in a row on Thursday. The Nifty lost 0.51 per cent to end at 11,302 and the BSE Sensex ended down by 0.61 per cent to finish at 37,559. The broader market indices Nifty Midcap and Smallcap outperformed the benchmarks, closing lower by 0.09 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively. The sectoral indices exhibited mixed trend, with Nifty Media gaining the most and Nifty Metal losing the most.

After an initial setback, the US stocks recovered from the lower levels and trimmed some of the losses, but still managed to end the session in the red on Thursday. The bounce-back on the Wall Street was seen after the US President Donald Trump stated that a deal was still possible with China, but tariffs were an “excellent” alternative. On the economic front, the commerce department released a report that showed the deficit widened to $50 billion in March compared to estimates of $50.1 billion. The Dow Industrial Average lost 0.54 per cent, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.30 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively.

European indices ended Thursday’s session solidly lower. Germany’s benchmark DAX plummeted 1.69 per cent and France’s CAC 40 index dropped 1.93 per cent, while UK’s FTSE ended down 0.87 per cent.