Markets may open with modest uptick

SGX Nifty is indicating a mild positive start for Indian markets but that may be hard to sustain as the markets are vulnerable at higher levels. The triggers for Indian markets are likely to be more focussed on domestic stories as nearly six corporates are likely to report their earnings today which include Yes Bank. Further, on the macro front, the market participants will watch out for Markit Services PMI data for April, which will be released later in the day. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was trading 10 points higher at 9,192 levels.

Asian markets were trading mixed on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.55 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite was trading lower by 0.25 per cent.

Thanks to the firm global cues, Indian markets started off the day on a positive note but as the day progressed, it not only erased its early gains but also ended the day in the bottom quartile of the day’s range. Nifty lost 0.95 per cent to end at 9,205 and BSE Sensex dropped 0.83 per cent to 31,454 levels. In-line with the frontline indices, the broader market indices also turned negative with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap slipping 0.70 and 1.26 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, all sectoral indices ended in red with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty being the top losers.

On Tuesday, US stocks pulled back from their best levels of the days but still managed to end the day with gains.  Key catalyst that was helping to fuel the rally was the surging crude oil prices and Pfizer announcement of starting clinical trial of Coronavirus vaccine in US. At the closing bell, Dow added 0.6 per cent; tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.1 per cent and S&P 500 rose 0.90 per cent. European markets ended the day on a positive note as the market participants reacted to the news of several European countries easing restrictions, which were in place due to Coronavirus pandemic.