Markets snap 5-day losing streak; Sensex gains around 100 points

The markets have registered modest gains at opening bell in what could be a case of short-covering after five successive days of losses.

At 9.20am, the Sensex is at 27,744, higher by 68 points and the Nifty is just shy of the 8,400 mark at 8398, up 20 points. The midcap and smallcap indices are also marginally in the green.

The Sensex had shed 210 points and the Nifty had broken the 8400 mark in the previous session to make it five successive days of losses, and this morning's modest gains could be attribute to short-covering on the part of market participants.

Yes Bank is set to announce its Q4 numbers during the day.

"Technically, the Nifty faces a major hurdle at 8,540 and 8,600 levels. Supports exists at 8,350 and at 8,270. A break of 8,270 will drag the sentiment heavily. Investors should look for adding Technology stocks in the recent weakness," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of technical research, Kotak Securities in a note.

Add Amar Ambani, head of reasearch at IIFL: The outlook is a flat start. Global cues are not really encouraging. The indices will look at minimizing any further damage unless the weather forecast takes a toll on the market. Yes Bank and Mastek results will be eyed. Attention will be on stocks like Sun Pharma again which shed over 9% on Tuesday after Daiichi sold its stake at a discount. While different interpretations are doing the round, Daiichi’s decision to exit Sun may be driven by its philosophy to not stay in a deal where it is a minority holder, says one. FY15 is turning out to be the worst year in last decade, in terms of PAT growth."

GLOBAL MARKETS

Most Asian stock markets were trading higher on Wednesday with shares in Japan gaining the most and the benchmark Nikkei reclaiming the 20,000 mark and hitting a new 15-year high.

The Nikkei was up 1.1% at 20,126. The recent liquidity push by China's central bank to increase lending and boost economic growth also aided sentiment. The Shanghai Composite was up 1% while the Hang Seng also extended gains and was up 0.4%. However, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.1%.

US stocks ended mixed with Dow Jones retreating from 18,000 levels amid lower-than-expected earnings from select corporates while the broader S&P 500 ended flat with negative bias. However, the tech-laden Nasdaq ended with marginal gains amid reports of a possible merger in the biotech sector.

The Dow Jones ended down 85 points at 17,949.59 and the S&P 500 ended down 3 points at 2,097.31 and Nasdaq Composite ended up 20 points at 5,014.10.