Market may look to continue bull run amid positive global cues

After closing higher for the second straight session on February 21, the market on Wednesday may look to continue this bullish run in a truncated, expiry-laden week. Trends on SGX Nifty hint at a flat opening with a positive bias. Positive global cues could also aid the market. In Asia, markets were trading mostly flat as investors still scout for details on policies by the Donald Trump administration on tax reforms and deregulation. The Nikkei was lower by 0.20 percent, while the KOSPI was up a tenth of a percent. The Taiwanese index was trading marginally higher, while Singapore Straits was trading with a mild negative bias. In the US, equities began the week on a positive note, closing at record highs. This was boosted by strong earnings reports from Walmart and Home Depot. The Dow Jones rose more than 100 points, with Boeing and UnitedHealth contributing the most gains. The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent. In Europe, bourses ended mostly higher, with support from increasing oil prices, positive business activity data as well as strong performance by the German Dax. Investors were given a lift during trade, on the back of a better-than-expected euro zone composite Purchasing Managers Index for February, which came in at 56—the highest level since April 2011.Back home, the Street saw a continuation in the bullish run for the second consecutive session. The rally was led by banks post Axis Bank’s merger buzz as well as Reliance Industries after Reliance Jio tariff plans. The Nifty ended above 8900 for the first time since September 2016, while the midcap index ended at record closing high. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 100.01 points at 28761.59 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 28.65 points at 8907.85 but the market breadth was not that strong. About 1,553 shares advanced against 1,277 declining shares on the BSE. Axis Bank surged 5 percent after sources told CNBC-TV18 that Kotak Mahindra Bank had informally approached government seeking Axis Bank's hand. Following this, ICICI Bank as well as HDFC Bank had also asked the government for a competitive bidding process. On the bad loans front, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said that banks with large bad loans should be prevented from taking deposits and growing. He proposed a two-pronged strategy to resolve existing bad loans The dollar rose against a basket of currencies after officials from the US Federal Reserve make hawkish comments. Political uncertainty in Europe boosted the dollar as well. Meanwhile, gold prices saw a decline, following the rebound in the greenback. Crude prices gain over 1 percent overnight on OPEC's optimism for greater compliance with its deal with other producers including Russia to curb output in an effort to clear a glut that has weighed on the market.