Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index with a 37 points loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 16,231 on the Singaporean Exchange around 7.30 AM.

Indian markets could open flat to mildly lower, in line with largely rangebound Asian markets today and mixed US markets on Friday, said Deepak Jasani, Head-Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

"Nifty may test its support of 16200 and 16150 soon , it is expected to open flat around Friday's close. Nifty will face resistance in the 16,330-16,350 range , once this resistance is crossed Nifty may see levels of 16,400 and 16,450. Longs can keep holding their positions as long as Nifty holds 15,900 on closing basis. It is advised to exit longs below 15,900 on closing basis, ' said Gaurav Udani, Founder & CEO, ThincRedBlu Securities.

Consumer discretionary shares and technology stocks were hurt by a rise in long-dated benchmark bond yields and a rise in the U.S. dollar though, putting pressure on growth stock areas of the market. For the week, the Dow gained 0.8 percent, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent.

Indian benchmark indices fell on Aug 06 breaking a four day winning streak even after the RBI kept the repo rates steady at its MPC meet and maintained an accommodative stance. At close the Nifty was down 56.4 points or 0.35% to 16238.

After forming a doji on Thursday, the Nifty fell on Aug 06 validating the reversal sign of a doji. Over the week, however, the Nifty was up 3.0% due to the gains in the early part of the week. However, Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.49% while Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 0.78% over the week, reflecting the pressure on the broader markets. 15962-16146 could be the support band for the Nifty in the current week while 16337-16349 could act as a resistance.

Mohit Nigam, Head, PMS - Hem Securities, said markets are sensing a flattish opening after the strong breakout seen in the last week, as indicated by the SGX Nifty in the market opening time. Over the last week markets have broken up from the consolidation zone of 15,600 to 16,000. The breaking up from the zone has signalled further upside for the benchmark indices.

Among the stock specific actions, Axis bank being exposed to Future group companies to the tune of 648 crores might have a slight negative impact following the Supreme Court verdict on the latter. Shree Cement and MRF are among the NIFTY50 stocks to report the earnings today along with Clean Science Energy and Jet Airways. Nifty50 will continue on the upside with the support of 16,100 and the near term resistance at 16,400, any significant dip is a good opportunity to invest.

Asian shares wobble

Asian shares wobbled on Monday amid sharp losses in gold and oil prices. Sentiment was shaken by a sudden dive in gold as a break of $1,750 triggered stop loss sales taking it as low as $1,684 an ounce. It was last down 2.2 percent at $1,723. Brent sank almost 2 percent on on the back of a rising U.S. dollar and concerns that new pandemic curbs in Asia, especially China, may set back the global recovery in fuel demand.

US markets close at record highs

The Dow and the S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs on Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report, while investors shrugged off concerns over the Delta variant impacting a nascent economic recovery.

The record finishes for the Dow and S&P 500 came after investors digested a fresh employment report for July from the US Labor Department that saw a better-than-expected 943,000 jobs created and the unemployment rate fall to 5.4 percent from 5.9 percent.

US jobs scene shows recovery

The gain in new jobs exceeded what was seen in June and offers some hope that the stalled employment recovery is regaining some steam. Wage inflation, in the jobs report Friday showed a 4 percent increase over the past year. This could lead to a stickier rise in inflation. In other economic news, a reading on US wholesale inventories increased 1.1 percent in June.

The strong July numbers may give some policymakers reason to start paring back its asset purchase program later this year. The Fed's annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this month is seen as offering clues to the Fed's thinking.

Some investors believe the robust jobs numbers could support the view that the Federal Reserve, faced with rising inflation and strong growth, may need to unwind its ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected. Such an outcome could push yields higher while denting growth stocks and other areas of the market. That view, however, is complicated by worries over rising COVID-19 cases across the United States that threaten to weigh on growth and the Fed’s insistence that the current surge in inflation is transitory.

China export growth slows in July

China’s export growth unexpectedly slowed in July while imports also lost momentum. Exports rose 19.3% from a year ago, compared with a 32.2 percent gain in June and versus a market forecast of a 20.8 percent gain, Reuters reported. Imports rose 28.1 percent from a year earlier, less than a market forecast of a 33 percent increase.

China's factory gate prices in July rose at a faster clip from the previous month. The producer price index (PPI) grew 9.0 percent from a year earlier, matching the high seen in May. Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected the PPI to rise 8.8 percent, unchanged from June. The PPI inched up 0.5 percent on a monthly basis, accelerating from a 0.3% uptick in June. The consumer price index (CPI) in July rose 1.0 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 1.1 percent gain in June and below the government target of around 3percent this year. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI rose 0.3 percent.

Company results today (August 9)

Shree Cement, Astrazeneca Pharma India, Balrampur Chini Mills, Birla Tyres, Bombay Dyeing, Chemcon Speciality Chemicals, Clean Science and Technology, Gati, Gujarat State Petronet, Indian Hotels, Laxmi Organic Industries, MRF, Nilkamal, Reliance Power, Satin Creditcare Network, Shalby, Shankara Building Products, Subex, Suven Life Sciences, Timken India, and Venky's (India) will release quarterly earnings on August 9.

Oil prices decline

Oil prices dropped 2 percent on Monday, extending last week's steep losses on the back of a rising US dollar and conerns that new pandemic curbs in Asia, especially China, may set back the global recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude futures slid $1.41 or 2 percent to $69.29 a barrel by 0125 GMT, after having slumped 6 percent last week, their bigges weekly loss in four months.

Bullion falls

Gold extended its slump in early Asian trading, and silver tumbled, after a stonger-than-expected US jobs report fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve may start paring back monetary stimulus soon. Bullion fell more than 4 percent before trading 2.4 percent lower at $1,720.78 an ounce. Silver jumped as much as 7 percent. Data on Friday showed US employers added the most jobs in nearly a year and the unemployment rate declined faster than forecast.