Markets may open negative gaining further direction from the high action earnings season

Indian benchmark indices rose for a fourth consecutive session on Friday to post their biggest weekly gain in eight months, helped by a rally in financial stocks and optimism ahead of the Union Budget which will be presented on February 1, 2017. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power, Consumer Durables, Bankex, PSU and Auto; while FMCG and Realty were the only losing indices on BSE. At the end of the day, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index,Nifty, rallied by close to half a per cent to settle near the crucial level of 8,650; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, Sensex accumulated over one hundred and fifty points and closed above the psychological 27,850 mark.

Most of the European markets drifted lower on Friday, with banks underperforming, after the UBS posted a drop in full-year profit and warned there might be some significant changes if there is a ‘hard Brexit’. The DAX of Germany fell 0.29 per cent and the CAX 40 of France plunged 0.56 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. added 0.32 per cent.

The U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Friday after a monumental week that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 20k mark for the first time as investors weighed disappointing fourth-quarter data on domestic economic growth and a spate of earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 7 points to end at 20,094. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 6 points to close at 5,561; and the S&P 500 fell 2 points to close at 2,295.

Asian stocks are trading lower on Monday, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading lower by 0.75 per cent at 19,321.60. Whereas, Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite are closed for holidays.

At 7:57 am, SGX Nifty index has dropped 46 points to 8,628, indicating a negative start for Indian equities. Today will be a busy day on the earnings' front as over 100 firms are to report their quarterly results today. The list includes HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries, Bajaj Finance, Dish TV, Cadila Healthcare and V-Guard Industries.