Subdued start likely on mixed cues from global peers

The key benchmark indices are expected to make a soft start as cues from the global peers are mixed. The SGX Nifty suggests that Nifty could open at 10,522 with loss of 6 points at the opening bell.   

The GST collection for the month of November fell to the lowest level of Rs 80,808 crore, well below the peak of over 94,000 crore in July. This could be largely attributed to the reduction in rates on as many as 178 items in the peak 28% bracket.  

Majority of the Asian markets are trading with modest gains in early deals on Wednesday.  Japan’s Nikkei 225 has added 17 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 26 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 9 points.  

Back home, markets opened flat and traded in a narrow band for most part of the trading session. However, towards the fag end of the session,  markets suddenly soared to reach yet another landmark as Nifty closed above the 10,500-mark and Sensex closed above the 34,000-mark for the first time ever. Broader indices outperformed the benchmark indices as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap indices registered gains of 0.82% and 0.85%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty Metal surged 1.21%, followed by Nifty Realty.  

In the US, the markets reopened after the long weekend and the stocks registered modest losses. The Dow slipped 8 points and the S&P 500 dipped 3 points. The Nasdaq declined 24 points as a notable decline in the Apple share price weighed down the tech-laden index. The sharp drop in stock price of Apple came after a report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily predicted that the company would lower its forecast for  iPhone X sales to 30 million  for the quarter. 

Major European stock markets remained closed on Tuesday.