Sensex, Nifty likely to open higher amid mixed global cues

Indian benchmark indices are likely to open higher today as SGX Nifty gained 63 points to 18,418 level amid mixed global cues. Singapore Nifty (SGX Nifty) is the Indian Nifty index that is traded in Singapore Stock Exchange and considered to be the first indication of the Indian markets opening.

Equity markets closed at record highs on October 14, tracking gains in ITC, HDFC Bank and PowerGrid shares amid mixed cues in global markets. Sensex ended above 61,000 for the first time and Nifty closed above the 18k mark for the second consecutive session.

The 30-stock index closed 568 points higher at a new peak of 61,305 and Nifty rallied 176 points to 18,338. Sensex and Nifty logged record highs of 61,353 and 18,350 during the session.

ITC was the top Sensex gainer, zooming 2.89 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and NTPC.

Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan expects Nifty to reach 19,000 mark in the short term.

"The daily chart is showing runaway gap, which underscores the underlying strength. The same is visible from the momentum indicators as well. Hence, the index is expected to stay on the upward trajectory with the short-term target at 19,000. On the other hand, the recent gap area of 18,248 - 18,197 will provide cushion in the case of any minor degree dip," said Ratnaparkhi.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,681 crore on October 14, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,750 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.

Global markets

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 16 points to 7,380. Nikkei fell 80 points to 28,897 and Kospi was flat at 3,009. Hang Seng slipped 145 points to 25,187. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 33 points to 4471, the Nasdaq rose 73 points to 14,571 and the Dow Jones zoomed 382 points to 35,294.