Markets are likely to open flat on Friday according to futures trade on the Singapore Exchange. As of 08.40 a.m., the SGX Nifty traded 0.15 per cent lower at 6,313.50, but traders said a new high could be hit later in the day.
“We are seeing strong support from institutional investors. Markets can go up to another 100 points (in Nifty). Going forward, there could be profit-taking after Diwali,” said Suresh Parmar, head of institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.
As of Thursday’s close, the Sensex is just 44 points shy of an all-time high, while the Nifty has to advance 58 points to register a record high.
The Sensex gained 9.2 per cent in October, its biggest monthly gain since January 2012 on strong foreign inflows as a delay in the US Federal Reserve’s tapering of monetary stimulus led to a surge of money in risk assets.
The current market rally has been driven by overseas investors, who bought equities for a 20th consecutive session on Thursday, bringing their total buying to nearly Rs 17,900 crore during that period.
Global cues:
Asian shares sagged on Friday though upbeat signals on China’s manufacturing activity limited losses, while the dollar pushed higher after upbeat U.S. data led some investors to price-in a less dovish stance at the U.S. Federal Reserve.
China’s manufacturing sector grew at the fastest in 18 months in October, with the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rising to 51.4 last month from September’s 51.1, beating economists’ consensus forecast of 51.2.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 0.2 per cent, while Australian shares gave up 0.2 per cent, but still remained just shy of five-year highs. Japan’s Nikkei stock average erased early gains and dropped 0.6 per cent.
(With inputs from Reuters)