Benchmarks may see flat opening

Market is seen opening almost flat tracking mixed leads from other Asian markets. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 5.50 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed on Friday, following overnight gains on Wall Street after strong earnings and economic data helped quell some of the fears surrounding the ongoing US-China trade war.

US stocks rose on Thursday after strong earnings from Walmart and Cisco Systems while banks climbed on higher rates. On the data front, the Commerce Department said housing starts rose by 5.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.235 million. Weekly jobless claims, meanwhile, fell to 212,000 last week. Further, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index in May rose to a four-month high of 16.6 after registering 8.5 in April. Any reading above zero indicates improving conditions.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 953.23 crore on 16 May 2019, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 948 crore on 16 May 2019, as per provisional data.

Domestic stocks ended with modest gains yesterday, 16 May 2019, supported by firmness in index pivotals. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 278.60 points or 0.75% to 37,393.48. The Nifty 50 index rose 100.10 points or 0.90% to 11,257.10.

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