Sensex, Nifty may open in positive territory; these factors to set direction for markets today

Traders should prefer hedged trades instead of outrights, citing a possible uptick in the volatility ahead

After snapping 5-day winning streak, domestic equity market benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 are set to open with upticks on Thursday, following a rally in US stock market and early gains in Asian markets. Meanwhile, India reported more than 7 lakh cases of COVID-19 infection and over 20,000 deaths, which might cap the gains. Besides, investors will track developments related to coronavirus, geopolitical tension between China-US over Tibet, movement in rupee and oil prices. “We may see a marginal dip in the index before the further up move and that would be a healthy correction. Firm global markets and recent buoyancy in the banking index would cap the downside. Besides, all eyes will be on Q1FY21 earnings of TCS, which is scheduled for 9th July. Traders should prefer hedged trades instead of outrights, citing a possible uptick in the volatility ahead,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Sensex, Nifty slip nearly 1%: The benchmark Sensex was down by 345.51 points or 0.94 per cent to close at 36,329.01 while the broader Nifty 50 fell 94 points or 0.87 per cent to close at 10,705.57, breaking their five-day gaining run.

SGX Nifty: Trends on SGX Nifty suggest a positive opening for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on Thursday. Nifty futures were trading 46.30 points or 0.43 per cent higher at 10,728.50 on Singaporean Exchange.

TCS June quarter earnings: Index heavyweight Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is scheduled to announce its April-June quarter earnings of the current fiscal later in the day today. Earlier this week, TCS shares hit a fresh 52-week high after JP Morgan Funds bought 11.23 lakh shares of the TCS at Rs 2,199 per share.

FII and DII: On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares of worth Rs 994.87 crore and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 853.41 crore on a net basis, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

Asian stock markets: Asian stock markets rose in early trade on Thursday, taking cues from the rally in US markets in overnight trade. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.25% in morning trade. The Topix index, however, slipped 0.27%.

US stock market: In overnight trade on Wall Street, Nasdaq hit a close closing lifted by a surge in technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 177.1 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 26,067.28, the S&P 500 gained 24.62 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 3,169.94 and the Nasdaq Composite added 148.61 points, or 1.44 per cent, at 10,492.50.