Positive global cues may see markets opening gap-up

Taking a cue from the global markets, the key Indian benchmark indices are expected to open gap up with the SGX Nifty trading higher by 95 points at 10,319. The focus will be on PSU banking stocks today as the government has decided to infuse up to Rs 211,000 crore into PSU banks' capital over the next two years. Nearly Rs 135,000 crore will be given out in the form of recapitalisation bonds, while the balance Rs 76,000 crore will come in the form of budgetary support from the government. On the other hand, Infosys might open weak as the company has gone ahead and cut its guidance.

The stocks of companies like Engineers India, Emami, Exide Industries, IDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, M&M Financial Services, Mind Tree, Niit, PNB Housing Finance, RBL Bank, Tata Elxsi, V-guard and Tata Communication will be in focus today as these are expected to announce earnings today.  

Stock markets were trading higher in Asia on Wednesday, with the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leading Asian markets' gains followed by the Nikkei 225 and China’s Shanghai Composite which were trading higher by 0.12% and 0.06% respectively.  

Back home, Indian benchmark indices ended Tuesday’s session with modest gains as PSU banking, oil marketing companies and some of the media counters supported the index. The BSE Sensex surged 100 points to end at 32,607 and Nifty added 23 points to end above the 10,200-mark. The Nifty Mid-cap and Small-Cap gained 0.34% and 1.18%, respectively. Stock-wise, ZEEL, Asian Paints and SBI were amongst the top gainers. 

In the US, all three benchmark indices ended on a positive note; with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting a record close after strong earnings from Caterpillar and 3M Corp. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 168 points to 23,442. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 12 points to 6,598 and the S&P 500 climbed about 4 points to 2,569.
  
The European markets ended Tuesday’s session with modest gains after choppy economic data. The French CAC 40 index added 0.15%, the German DAX inched up 0.08% and the FTSE 100 of the UK rose 0.03%.