Markets may open negative following weak cues from Asian peers

In early indication, SGX Nifty indicates it would be a weak start to Wednesday as cues from Asian peers are mostly negative. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty is down by 40 points trading at the 10,923 level. Today, all eyes will be on the Reserve Bank of India as the MPC will conclude its three-day meet and announce its verdict on the policy rates. Given the comforting inflation data and subdued consumption demand, expectations on D-Street are rife for a fourth consecutive rate cut of 25 bps by the RBI. However, the commentary on growth and inflation would be more important factors in deciding the further course of the markets. On the earnings front, Tata Steel, M&M, Voltas, HCL Tech and Siemens results will be in focus today.

The Asian markets are trading mostly in the negative on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slipped 0.83 per cent and the Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 has lost 0.85 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite index is trading with marginal gains.  

Back home, the session started on a negative note on the back of weak global cues. However, within no time, the markets recovered from lower levels and started trading in the positive terrain and surged higher as the day progressed. But at the fag-end of the session, Nifty and BSE Sensex retreated from the day’s highs to settle with gains of 0.79 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively. The broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with Nifty Midcap and Smallcap ending with gains of 2.03 per cent and 1.78 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, barring Nifty Media and Nifty IT, all other indices witnessed healthy buying interest with Nifty Realty, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Service being the top gainers.

The US stocks staged a smart recovery on Tuesday after witnessing their worst day of the year on Monday. The recovery came following China’s action to stabilize its currency a day after the US labelled China a currency manipulator. The Dow ended higher by 1.2 cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.4 per cent and S&P 500 advanced 1.3 per cent.

The European markets ended in the negative terrain on Tuesday. Germany’s DAX shed 0.78 per cent, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.13 per cent and UK’s FTSE 100 slid 0.72 per cent lower.