The key domestic benchmarks are likely to witness a gap up opening today tracking a mostly positive trend in Asian markets which rose as crude oil extended an advance while a leading US Federal Reserve official warned against raising interest rates this year, boosting the lure for risky assets. China’s Shanghai Composite fell even as below-target inflation gave policymakers ample leeway to step up monetary stimulus. Consumer prices rose 1.5 per cent in December 2014 from the same month a year ago, compared to an annual 1.4 per cent rise in November 2014. Producer prices fell by 3.3 per cent, year on year in December 2014, the 34th straight dip, signaling weak demand in the world’s second biggest economy. Hang Seng rose while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed as a weaker yen boosted the appeal of exporter stocks. Back home, all eyes are on the start of the Q3 corporate earnings season with IT giant Infosys to set the ball rolling today.
