India : Markets may open positive, catalysed by a positive start of the earnings season

The Indian equity markets extend their winning momentum for the third consecutive day; however, Thursday’s trading session was clearly one of consolidation as indices remained in a tight band throughout the day. Eventually, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, got buttressed by over quarter per cent to settle above the crucial 8,400 support level; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index-Sensex accumulated over hundred points and closed above the psychological 27,200 mark.European markets finished in the mix near the most recent closing prices. The FTSE 100 gained 0.03 per cent, while the DAX fell 1.07 per cent and CAC 40 fell 0.51 per cent. European markets will be also under watch after Germany’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble said the European Central Bank (ECB) should start unwinding its ultra-lose money policy this year.U.S. stocks rebounded from a sharp sell-off, but still closed lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq snapping a seven-day winning streak, as investors paused before the start of earnings season and a lack of policy detail in President-elect Donald Trump’s first formal news conference. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 63.28 points at 19,891. The Nasdaq composite finished down 16.16 points at 5,547.49. The S&P 500 index fell 4.88 points to finish at 2,270.44.Asian markets are trading in the mix on Friday, tracking a decline in U.S. equities, as investors began to feel that the Trump rally may have run ahead of fundamentals. Nikkei 225 is trading with gains of 83.23 points and Hang Seng is up by 104.50 points. On the other hand, Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 6.35 points.At 7:52 am, the SGX Nifty index gained 17 points to 8,444, indicating a positive start for Indian equities. Investors will react to better than expected IIP data which stands at a 12-month high of 5.7 per cent despite the cash ban and CPI inflation in December declining to 3.41 per cent from 3.63 per cent in the previous month. Additionally, a strong third quarter from Tata Consultancy Services, as well as the news of the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as the new chairman of Tata Sons will fuel positivity.