Morning Be!!.....Indian stock indices struggling for direction in early morning trade

Indian Markets

The frontline Indian stock indices appear to be struggling for direction in early morning trade after opening slightly positive. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are trading just in the red, or almost unchanged after advancing smartly in the previous two sessions. At the same time, the broader indices seem to be holding on to modest gains, resulting in a positive market breadth.

The Small-Cap and Mid-cap index was trading flat.

Consumer Durables, Oil and Gas, Power, PSU and IT indices are the gainers.

FMCG, Bankex, HC, Metal, Auto, Realty indices are the losers.

US and European Markets

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, kicking off the new year on a high note, as investors welcomed upbeat reports on economic activity around the world. Dow Jones jumped 180 points, or 1.5%, to end at 12,397. S&P 500 gained 19 points, or 1.5%, to 1,277. Nasdaq added 43 points, or 1.7%, to 2,649. The gains came after reports on manufacturing growth in China and India came in better than expected over the weekend. On Tuesday, a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a faster rate in December.

European stocks also rose. Britain's FTSE 100 added 2%, DAX in Germany added 1.5% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%.

Asian Markets

Today the Asian indices are trading in the green except Shanghai and Kospi, which are down by 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Nikkei is trading higher by 1.2% while Strait Times is up 0.3%. Hang Seng and Taiwan are up by 0.2% each. Asian stocks are up, as investor risk appetite returned after upbeat U.S. and European economic data boosted global shares and commodities and hopes for improved growth outlook grew despite worries over the euro zone debt crisis. SGX Nifty is trading higher by 2 points.

Currencies

Snapping its three session losing string, the rupee today gained 9 paise to close at 53.21/22 against the dollar amid a strong rally in local equities and fresh dollar selling by exporters.

Commodities

Among the metals, Aluminium gained the most (2.1%) while Copper rose by 1.5%. Nickel and Zinc ended higher by 0.9% and 0.3% respectively. Oil for February delivery added $4.20, or 4.2%, to $103.03 a barrel. Gold futures for February delivery rose $33.70 to end at $1,600.50 an ounce.

Outlook

Today, the Indian market is likely to open in the green on the back of positive global cues and inch up further during the day. Among the sectoral indices, Banking and Oil & Gas stocks could do well.

Source- HDFCSEC, Rh morning market update