Gap-up start likely on exit poll outcomes in H.P. and Gujarat

The first set of exit polls from some of the leading channels are indicating unequivocal triumphs for the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat and, as a result, this would lead to gap-up opening for the Indian indices as the markets were nervous that the battle in Gujarat could be much tougher. The actual results will be out on December 18. The SGX Nifty is trading firmly in the green, higher by 67 points at 10,356 indicating a strong start at the opening bell.

Asian markets are trading lower in early deals on Friday after the US stocks closed mostly lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has slid 308 points, Japan’s Nikkei 225 has shed 204 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has dipped 9 points.
Back home, markets opened the session with a positive bias and drifted lower during the first half of the trading session. However, markets rebounded from early losses with a strong push from FMCG and pharma stocks. The broader indices ended mixed as Nifty Mid-Cap index added 0.03% and Nifty Small-Cap index shed 0.32%. At the closing bell, Nifty ended with gains of 59 points at 10,252 and BSE Sensex rose 194 points to close at 33,247.

In the US, after a positive start, stocks headed lower as the day progressed amid uncertainty about the outlook for the Republican tax reform plan after Senator Marco Rubio indicated his opposition to the legislation currently being negotiated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 77 points to 24,509, the Nasdaq dipped 19 points to 6,857 and the S&P 500 fell 11 points to 2,652.

On Thursday, the ECB left its monetary policy stance unchanged. The European indices ended in the red. The CAC 40 of France declined 0.78, DAX of Germany lost 0.44% and FTSE 100 of the UK dropped by 0.65%.