Sensex, Nifty may see weak opening; Axis Bank, YES Bank in focus

Indian equities may be slightly weaker, tracking movements on SGX Nifty. Asian markets are trading higher with the Nikkei up 1 percent on the back of a weaker yen. The drop in currency boosted export-oriented shares in the trade. Meanwhile, the Korean market is trading flat. On the Wall Street, stocks closed mostly higher riding on rise in financials after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s comments on gradually raising interest rates. Financials have rallied since the US election on expectations of higher rates and of reduced regulations under President-Elect Donald Trump. However, yields on 10-year treasuries climbed 10 basis points to 2.42 percent. The S&P 500 ended slightly higher, while the Dow Jones closed down 0.11 percent. Among the European markets, the UK’s FTSE was up by more than 0.3 percent after reaching a new high on Tuesday. CAC 40 was down 0.13 percent. In India, equity benchmarks closed off day's high for the second consecutive session on Wednesday as investors eyed corporate earnings. The Nifty reclaimed 8450 intraday after the tax department kept in abeyance its recent circular on indirect transfer of shares by foreign investors. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 21.98 points to 27257.64 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 19 points at 8417 while broader markets outperformed. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained around half a percent.Banking stocks will be on the radar with two major banks, Axis Bank and YES Bank, set to announce their quarterly results today. An average estimate of analysts’ poll on CNBC-TV18 predicts a drop of 63.1 percent in Axis Bank’s profit year-on-year to Rs 801.6 crore. In case of Yes Bank, the base effect could lead to loan growth beyond 30 percent. Net interest margin is expected to be healthy. The Street is expecting strong earnings from Federal Bank.  Among the mid-sized banks, Federal Bank, too, will post its earnings later in the day. Insurance companies will be in focus again today as the cabinet approved listing of government-owned general insurance companies at the stock exchanges. The government will lower its stake to 75 percent from 100 percent in five Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) in one or more tranches over a period of time.Later on Wednesday, the RBI Governor Urjit Patel and top finance ministry officials appeared before the Parliament's Finance Panel to explain the demonetisation move. Patel told the panel that over 9.2 lakh crore new notes had been issued since demonetisation.Dollar saw a rebound following strong economic data from. The country’s CIP as well as industrial output exceeded expectations, which pushed up the greenback. Gold prices lost its sheen as the metal slumped off its 8-week high and lost 1 percent overnight following a stronger US dollar. Crude oil prices saw a fall of over 2.5 percent on expectations of a boost in production by US producers. Meanwhile, the OPEC has signaled a drop in the global oil supply surplus, as the group’s output fell from record highs.