The key domestic benchmarks are likely to open higher today tracking a
positive trend in Asian stocks as a sharp rebound in oil prices overshadowed the
fastest drop in US retail sales in nearly a year last month, signaling concerns
over a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy. China’s Shanghai Composite and
Hang Seng were trading higher after upbeat credit data eased concerns over a
slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy. Aggregate financing stood at
1.69 trillion yuan in December, beating an estimate of 1.2 trillion yuan by
analysts while new-local currency loans issued by China’s banks and financial
institutions stood at 697.3 billion yuan in December. Japan’s Nikkei 225
rebounded today as a weaker yen boosted the appeal of exporter stocks. Back
home, hopes that the RBI will cut interest rates next month remain intact after
the soft December inflation data, supporting sentiment at Dalal Street. All eyes
will be on IT major TCS which unveil its December quarter report card post
market hours today.
