Nifty Likely To Open Flat to Positive

Indian equities indices edged higher, hitting a record high for the second consecutive day and gaining for the fifth straight session on sustained funds inflows amid pre-budget optimism among participants. The Sensex surpassed its previous peak of 28,829.29 and firmed up further to an all-time intra-day high of 28,958.10, before closing at a fresh record of 28,888.86, rising 104.19 points from its last close. The Nifty touched 8,741.85 intra-day, breaking the earlier record of 8,707.90, reached in yesterday’s trade and closed at 8,729.50. However, Midcap and smallcap indices ended in negative zone by falling 0.24% and 0.20% respectively.

The U.S. stock market ended Wednesday’s choppy trading day with modest gains on hopes of new stimulus measures for Europe's weak economy and a sharp rise in oil prices. Stocks rose for the third day in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.05 points, or 0.2%, to 17554.28. The S&P 500 gained 9.57 points, or 0.5%, to 2032.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 12.58 points, or 0.3%, to 4667.42.

US WTI crude settles nearly 3% higher, at USD 47.78 a barrel on Wednesday as more energy firms cut investment in future production. Brent crude for delivery in March was up 1 dollar a barrel to about USD 49.

European stocks closed sharply higher, achieving their fifth up day in a row. The STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.6% to end at a seven-year high. London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.63%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC gained 0.41% and 0.87%, respectively. The expectations of ECB action, with the potential stimulus seen at around 600 billion euros ($690 billion), according to a Reuters poll, kept core euro zone bond yields near record lows.

Asian shares mixed on Thursday, ahead of stimulus from the European Central Bank later in the day. Japan’s Topix index swung between gains and losses. The Topix slipped 0.48% percent to 1,383.93 rising 0.1%. The Nikkei 225 sank 0.12% to 17,260. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1% after rallying 6.6% in the past two days. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.8%.

SGX Nifty is trading in positive and higher by 32.50 points. Today, Indian market is expected to open flat to positive. Biocon, Cairn India, Dish TV India, Essar Ports, HCL Infosystems, Mastek, Muthoot Finance, and Supreme Industries would be reporting third quarter earnings today.