Market Likely To Open Flat

Indian equities indices snapping a three-day winning streak as crude prices sliding towards six-year lows hit sentiment and profit-booking in shares hit a three-day robust rally. After opening higher, the Sensex hit a high of 27,670.19 on improved IIP data but lost all gains to end 159.54 points (0.58%), lower at 27,425.73. Intra-day, it had dipped to 27,324.58 points. NSE Nifty closed tad below 8300, down 23.60 points to 8299.40 while the broader markets were flat.

The U.S. stock market slide a second day in a row on yesterday. The U.S. market opened the day higher, getting a boost from encouraging news on hiring and small business confidence. In the afternoon, the key benchmarks punctuated by massive triple-digit swings as oil extended its slide and continued to fan fear over deflation.. The S&P 500 index eased 5.23 points (0.26%), to 2,023.03. The Dow fell 27.16 points (0.15%), to 17,613.68 and the Nasdaq composite slipped 3.21 points (0.07%) to 4,661.50.

Crude oil touched their lowest levels in almost six years as a big OPEC producer stood by the group's decision not to cut output to tackle a glut in the market. The price of oil has slumped almost 60% since last June. U.S. crude fell 18 cents to close at USD 45.89 a barrel in New York. Brent crude fell 84 cents to close at USD 46.59 in London.

In Europe, traders are speculating that the ECB will announce more stimulus later this month to boost the region's flagging economy. France's CAC 40 gained 1.6% while Germany's DAX rose 1.7%. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.6%. The Stoxx Europe 600 erased opening losses to end 1.4% higher.

Asian stock markets open with mixed note. Japanese stocks fell for a second day as the yen traded near a four-week high against the dollar. The Topix lost 0.67% to 1,365 and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.95% to 16,925. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.49% to 3,251 and the Hang Seng Index gained 0.32%. South Korea's benchmark Kospi reversed early gains to dip into negative territory, while the junior Kosdaq index remained positive with a gain of 0.3%.

SGX Nifty is trading at flat. Today, Indian market is expected to open flat. Investors will keep an eye on WPI data on Today. The rate of inflation based on the WPI is projected at 1.0% for December 2014, as per the street estimate. WPI inflation stood at zero in November 2014.