Markets may start on a positive note tracking Asian peers

Today, the start is likely to be mildly positive as cues from Asian markets are supportive. The SGX Nifty, which was trading up by 10 points at 11,152, indicated that domestic bourses may witness a positive opening. With over 20 firms set to report their quarterly earnings today, the action could be stock-specific, with big names such as Bharti Infratel, Hero Motocorp and Larsen & Toubro announcing their results today.  

Majority of Asian markets have rallied on Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has gained 0.53 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 has risen 0.44 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite has shed 0.21 per cent.  

Back home, Indian benchmark indices continued with their buoyancy for the third straight session and ended Tuesday’s session at record closing high levels, with indices surpassing their crucial 36,800 (Sensex) and 11,1000 (Nifty) levels. In the broader markets, the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap outperformed their larger peers, registering gains of 1.32 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty gained the most, surging 2.99 per cent and 2.50 per cent, respectively, while Nifty Bank and Nifty IT remained subdued.  
  
On the Wall Street, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed in the positive territory, while the Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend on Tuesday. The earnings news dominated the session, with Google parent Alphabet climbing more than 3 per cent as second quarter results were significantly ahead of expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 198 points to close at 25,242; the S&P 500 added 13 points to finish at 2,820, while the Nasdaq slipped a single point to end at 7,841.  

Tuesday’s session turned out to be a fabulous one for the European markets as the DAX of Germany jumped 1.12 per cent, the CAC 40 of France rose 1.04 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.70 per cent. The shares of Peugeot and UBS stole the show as Peugeot's stock touching its highest level since around the summer of 2008 after reporting upbeat results and as UBS share rose more than 4 per cent.