Sensex, Nifty Likely To Have A Cautious Start

At 7:00 am, the Nifty futures were trading lower by 10 points on Singapore Stock Exchange.

The domestic stock markets are likely to open on a cautious note, in line with cues from global markets as results from the U.S. Presidential election hinted at a close race for the top post. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the index in India, with a 10-points loss. At 7:00 am, the Nifty futures were trading at 11,816, lower by 10 points, on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Asian share markets turned cautious on Wednesday, paring sharp early gains. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 retreated 0.2 per cent, having earlier been up 1 per cent. Japan's Nikkei was still up 1 per cent, but South Korea went flat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3 per cent.

The dollar slid and global equity markets rose on Tuesday on bets of increased stimulus if Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidential election against President Donald Trump, but gold prices edged higher on the potential for contested voting results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.06 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.78 per cent and Nasdaq Composite added 1.85 per cent.

U.S. oil prices jumped more than 2 per cent on Wednesday after industry data showed crude inventories in the United States dropped sharply and as investors awaited results from the tumultuous presidential election.

West Texas Intermediate was up $1.01, or 2.7 per cent, at $38.67 a barrel by 1138 GMT Tuesday, after gaining more than 2 per cent in the previous session. Brent crude was yet to trade, having gained 3 per cent on Tuesday.

On the earnings front, State Bank of India, Lupin, HPCL, Adani Enterprises, Apollo Tyres, Balrampur Chini Mills and Happiest Minds Technologies will declare their Q2 numbers during the day.

On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex had closed above the 40,000 mark, rising 503.55 points or 1.27 per cent to 40,261.13 and the Nifty had gained 144.30 points or 1.24 per cent to 11,813.50.