The key domestic benchmarks are poised to open on a positive note tracking a firm trend across Asian peers as a rise in US homebuilder sentiment to the highest level in seven months signaled a pickup in the world’s biggest economy, boosting the appetite for risky assets. The gauge measuring US homebuilder sentiment climbed to 55 in August from 53 in the previous month. Further, geopolitical concerns eased as Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to extend their five-day truce by one more day while the US helped Kurdish and government forces to retake Iraq’s largest dam from Islamic rebels. In Ukraine, the Red Cross was closely working out details of allowing a safe-passage plan for a Russian aid convoy bound for war-torn eastern Ukraine. China’s Shanghai Composite was trading with slim gains, while Hang Seng rose amid hopes that China may accelerate reforms to fasten growth while Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued to extend gains.
