Nifty opens above 7,800 ahead of Rail Budget

The markets have opened on a positive note ahead of the Railway Budget announcement later in the day today. Investors expect the government to unveil reform-oriented measures and take steps to modernize the railways.

 

At 9.15 AM, the Sensex is quoting 52 points  higher at 26,153 levels and Nifty is trading 16 points higher at 7,803  levels. Tata Power, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Cipla and ITC are some of the top gainers among the Sensex scrips. However, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Motors, Wipro and TCS are trading weak.

 

Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 198.57 crore on Monday, 7 July 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

 

Global Markets

 

US stocks dipped on Monday, retreating from last week's record levels as investors hesitated to make big bets before the start of earnings season.

 

Cyclical stocks, which are tied to the pace of economic growth, ranked among the weakest of the day. The S&P industrial sector index fell 0.7%.

 

Asian stocks were subdued on Tuesday as Wall Street turned cautious ahead of the corporate reporting season and as earnings guidance from regional tech heavyweight Samsung came in well short of forecasts. Investors could also be forgiven for feeling a touch of altitude sickness after many indices recently hit all-time or multi-year peaks.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eked out marginal gains to reach a fresh three-year high at 502.00, but faced tough resistance at the 2011 top of 512.12.