Sensex, Nifty Likely To Open Higher On Strong Global Cues

The domestic stock markets are likely to open in the green, extending the gains witnessed in the Budget week, on the back of positive global cues. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India. At 7:30 am, the SGX Nifty futures were trading at 15,034, higher by 92 points or 0.87 per cent, on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Asian shares hovered near record highs on Monday while oil edged closer to $60 a barrel on hopes a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package will be passed by U.S. lawmakers as soon as this month just as coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out globally.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.2 per cent at 717.2, not far from last week's record high of 730.6. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.3 per cent, while Australian shares advanced 0.5 per cent led by technology and mining shares.

US stocks extended their recent rally on Friday and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes scored their biggest weekly percentage gains since the US elections in early November, boosted by optimism over earnings, stimulus talks and progress on vaccine rollouts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.38 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 31,148.24, the S&P 500 gained 15.09 points, or 0.39 per cent at 3,886.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 78.55 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 13,856.30.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex gained 117.34 points to end at record closing high of 50,731.63 and NSE Nifty crossed 15,000 mark for the first time, rising 28.60 points to see record closing high of 14,924.30.