Indian markets to open positively, thanks to global sentiment and strong quarterly results reported by major India Inc.
F&O settlement
The SGX Nifty ruling at 17,780 indicates moderate gains for Nifty, which on Muhurat trading closed at 17,730. As today is the penultimate day for F&O October contracts, the market may remain volatile, analysts said.
However, investors hope that the positive sentiment could get carried into the new Samvat year despite some macro and global headwinds, said Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities.
According to analysts, all eyes are on Nifty to determine whether it will again breach the crucial 18,000 mark.
Equities in the Asia-Pacific region are mixed, with Hong Kong and Chinese stocks continuing their decline even after a sharp fall on Monday. Others, such as Japan, Australia and Korea, eke out marginal gains.
US stocks rally
The US stocks rallied as momentum built on calls that the Fed will be tapping the tightening brakes after next week’s policy meeting and ahead of mega-cap tech earnings, said Edward Moya Senior Market Analyst, The Americas OANDA.
"No one wants to aggressively buy big tech stocks until we hear this week's big earnings from Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon. Investors are getting more confident that inflation will soften as the consumer rethinks massive purchases. Fed rate hike expectations will remain volatile, but expectations are growing that a weaker economy will let the Fed pause their tightening after the February policy meeting," he added.
Due to the festival mood and Wednesday being a closed holiday for markets on account of Diwali Balipratipada, volume is expected to remain low, said market experts.
Analysts believe the momentum is in India's favour and the domestic market is expected to continue its outperformance.
Outperformance to continue
Even though Samvat 2078 ended with marginal negative returns, the overarching feature of the year gone by was India’s distinct outperformance, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
While the MSCI World Index and MSCI Emerging Market Index fell by 23 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively, the Nifty hugely outperformed with a minor cut of 3 per cent.
"This outperformance in a year of a war in Europe and rising inflation and interest rates in the developed world reflects Rising India’s resilience. From the market perspective, two factors stand out: One, India’s economic fundamentals are relatively strong. Two, DIIs and retail investors have become a force to reckon with overwhelming the FII selling. This trend can be expected to continue," he added
Financials are again likely to lead the rally since credit growth in the economy is robust and continues to gain momentum. However, investors should be cautious since there are major challenges ahead, particularly rising interest rates and the unknown trajectory of the Ukraine war, he further said.