Going ahead, the zone of 10,950-10,985, which is now acting as a multi-month resistance zone, will be the key zone to keep an eye on. On the downside, the identical low level of the last two trading sessions which is placed around the levels of 10,813-10,814 is likely to act as a strong support. Stocks in news: Wipro, Coal India, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharat Financial Inclusion and SRF.

Domestic bourses are likely to make a flat to positive start. The earnings season will continue to garner much of the attention today as a host of companies are reporting their earning today, including ACC, Apollo Tyres, BHEL, CESC, DLF, GAIL, Hind Petro, Marico, PNB, Reliance Iinfra, Tata Global, Tech Mahindra, Torrent Power. In a major development, the Modi government has won a psychological victory as the UK home secretary has approved the extradition of Vijay Mallya to India. 

Going ahead, the index needs to move past the zone of 10,950-10,990, and until that time, sustainable upmoves would be difficult to come by. On the flipside, the zone of 10,743-10,845 is likely to remain an important support zone. Stocks in news: VEDL, Godrej Properties, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Communications, DHFL and Cyeint.

Indian markets are likely to witness a soft opening and we expect it to pick up momentum as the day progresses. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty is likely to open around the level of 10,899, marginally down by 12 points. The key earnings on the tap today will be Balrampur Chini, Exide Industries, IDBI, IRB, BBTC, Future Retail, SRF, Whirlpool, NRB Bearing and FSL. 

Going ahead, the 200-day moving average, which is placed around 10,843, is likely to act as an immediate hurdle, followed by 10,980. Stocks in news: UPL, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Bank of India, Varun Beverages and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

Key benchmarks may begin the first trading session for the month of February on positive note and once the budget announcement begins we will see the markets reacting to the budget proposals. Traders will be getting encouragement with GST collections in January crossing the Rs 1 lakh crore mark and the statistics office's revision of the growth rate for India’s gross domestic product data for financial years 2016-18 and 2017-18. The GDP growth for FY17 was revised from 7.1 per cent earlier to 8.2 per cent and for FY18 from 6.7 per cent earlier to 7.2 per cent.

Going ahead, it would be important for the index to defend the 10,580 level as any breach of this level will result in some instability for the very near term. Stocks in news: Bharti Airtel, 63 Moons Technologies, Talwalkars Better Value Fitness, Cadila Healthcare and Ajanta Pharma.

Indian markets look set to open on a firm note on Thursday following strong global cues and as the FOMC statement was deemed to be fully dovish on the US monetary policy. However, as the day progresses, volatility too is likely to remain ingrained in the session on account of January F&O expiry. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty is likely to open with a gain of 67 points above the 10,700 mark. Bharti Airtel, Chambal Fertilizers, Dabur, Hero Motocorp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, NMDC, Power Grid, Petronet, UPL, VGuard will declare their results today. 

Going ahead, Nifty needs to hold the Doji candle's low of 10,584 to keep the pullback options open towards 10,750 level, as failure to do so would result in extension of corrective decline towards the level of 10,550. Stocks in news: Yes Bank, Coromandel International, Asian Paints and DCM Shriram.

Indian markets are likely to open largely unchanged as cues from Asian peers are dull. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty is likely to open almost unchanged around 10,697. Ajanta Pharma, Bajaj Auto, BEL, Castrol India, ICICI Bank, Hexaware, IOC, Jubilant Foodworks, LIC Housing Finance, NTPC, Torrent Pharma will declare their results today.