Sensex, Nifty open on positive note; Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints major gainers

Indian indices has a positive start today on the back of firm global cues. The Sensex is up 147.33 points at 38740.85, while Nifty at 11491, up 50.80 points. The major gainers on the indices includes Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints, InterGlobe Aviation, Sterlite Tech, Indiabulls Housing, M&M, Cipla, IOC, ONGC, and BPCL, while Axis Bank, HCL Tech and Infosys are losers.

Amid positive global markets, neutral futures and options (F&O) and negative domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) cues, the short-term trend of the domestic Indian share market will continue to be positive today, while sentiment is cautious, according to Zee Business.

Triggered by US Presidential impeachment bid, Indian stocks copied the weakness of global equities and closed in the red on Wednesday, but certain stocks came in news after the market was closed and they will have an impact on the indices when it reopens today. These key stocks include Punjab National Bank (PNB), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals Limited, Pharma Companies, Hero Moto, and Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL), it added.

On Wednesday, equity indices- Sensex and Nifty, closed with losses of around 1.3 per cent. Domestic indices declined amid negative global cues and foreign fund outflow. The Sensex at Bombay Stock Exchange lost 503.62 points or 1.29% to end at 38,593.52, while the Nifty at National Stock Exchange fell 148 points or 1.28% to settle at 11,440.20. Similarly, Bank Nifty too lost 597.05 points or 1.98% to settle at 29,586.05.

On the global market front, Asian stocks edged up today as hope that the United States and China may soon end their year-long trade war boosted demand for riskier assets, while worries about a US presidential impeachment bid ebbed. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%. Japan`s Nikkei rose 0.45%. Australian shares were up 0.13%, according to Reuters.

Lifting the investor mood, President Trump said a deal to end a nearly 15-month trade war with China could happen sooner than people think, which would remove a huge risk to the global economic outlook, said the report, adding that Oil futures rose in Asia in a sign of cautious optimism about global economic prospects, but some investors warned that an end to trade friction is far from certain.

On Wednesday, Trump also announced initial details of a trade deal with Japan, which would open up Japanese markets to $7 billion worth of US products. Despite the progress in Japan trade, Sino-US talks remain the bigger concern for global investors. Notably, the United States and China have been locked in a year-long dispute over Beijing`s trade practices that has slowed global growth and increased the risk of recession for some economies.

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US crude, however, ticked up 0.27% to $56.64 a barrel, while Brent crude rose to 0.29& $62.54 per barrel in a sign some investors anticipate higher demand for energy and fuel in the future due to stronger economic activity.