(08-Apr-2021)Stocks poised for higher opening

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 56 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday after the S&P 500 nudged higher to a record closing high overnight.

In US, the S&P 500 gained slightly to hit a record high on Wednesday. The moves on Wall Street came as the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes from its March 16-17 meeting during which it kept its accommodative policy in place. The meeting summary indicated that while officials saw the economy was gaining considerably, they see much more progress needed before ultra-easy policy changes.

President Joe Biden recently unveiled details of his $2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes a corporate tax rate hike to 28%. He said Wednesday that he is willing to negotiate on the proposed tax increase.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks ended with strong gains on Wednesday, led by banks shares. Shares climbed after the RBI kept policy rates unchanged but committed to a massive government bond purchase programme. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 460.37 points or 0.94% to 49,661.76. The Nifty 50 index added 135.55 points or 0.92% to 14,819.05.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 227.42 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 381.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 April, provisional data showed.