Flat to positive start likely for the F&O expiry session

Today, the start of the F&O expiry session is likely to be flat to positive and with the progress of trade volatility can be seen. The SGX Nifty, which was trading up by 27 points at 11,164, indicated that domestic bourses may witness marginal higher opening. Among Nifty 50 companies, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India and Yes Bank will announce their results today.  

Most of the Asian markets are shaky on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has edged down 0.21 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 has shed 0.10 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 0.26 per cent.  

Back home, equity markets pared their day’s gains to end flat on Wednesday ahead of the July F&O expiry on Thursday. The BSE Sensex ended up 33 points at 36,858 and the NSE Nifty dipped 2 points to close at 11,132. In the broader markets, the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap fared better as these indices registered gains of 0.05 per cent and 0.39 per cent, respectively. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Realty and Nifty Media bled the most, while Nifty PSU Bank gained more than a per cent and ended as a top gainer.  
  
The US stocks rallied on Wednesday to close the session firmly in the positive territory on the back of reports that President Donald Trump and European Union official Jean-Claude Juncker have avoided a trade war between the US and the Eurozone. The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped 173 points to close at 25,415 led higher by Microsoft Corp and Nike. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 91 points to finish at 7,932 and the S&P 500 index closed higher by 26 points to end at 2,846.   

The European indices ended Wednesday’s session in the red amid weak German business sentiment data and mixed corporate earnings. The DAX of Germany lost 0.87 per cent, the CAC 40 of France dipped 0.14 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.66 per cent. Germany’s business sentiment has declined slightly in July as the closely-watched index compiled by the Munich-based institute dipped to 101.7 points in July from 101.80 points in June.