India : Markets may open flat amidst mixed global sentiments, further driven by stock specific action

Indian benchmark indices opened on a bullish tone, following upbeat global cues, and soon after opening, the indices rallied quite smartly on the FNO expiry day, amid huge expectations for the FY17-18 budget to be presented next week. Also, upbeat Q3 numbers from Kotak Mahindra Bank raised optimism that the impact of note ban could be less than expected. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas, PSU and Capital Goods, while IT and Power were the only losing indices on BSE. Finally, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty rallied by close to one and half per cent to settle above the crucial 8,600 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index-Sensex accumulated over three hundred points and closed above the psychological 27,700 mark.Mostly European markets ended in the negative territory on Friday. The DAX of Germany rose 0.36 per cent, while the CAC 40 of France fell 0.21 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. corrected 0.04 per cent.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 32 points to a second-straight record close above the 20,000 mark. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite eased less than 0.1 per cent.Asian stocks are trading in the mix on Friday, with Japan’s index Nikkei 225 trading higher by 0.27 per cent at 19,454.10. Whereas, Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng has slipped 31 points and Shanghai Composite remains shut on account of the start of the Lunar New Year.At 7:57 am, SGX Nifty index lost 34 points to 8660, while it surged nearly 1 per cent on January 26, when Indian market remained closed on account of Republic Day, but today morning SGX Nifty has retreated from higher levels.