Market Likely To Open Flat

Indian equities market staged strong performance Wednesday and marked their highest close in more than three months led by banking & financials and oil & gas stocks. Rajya Sabha panel endorsing the GST bill also supported the rally. The Sensex rose 322 points, or 1.15%, to close at 28504.93, while the Nifty rallied 104 points, or 1.22%, to close at 8633.50. The market breadth was strong with BSE midcap index rising 1.3% and smallcap index advancing nearly 0.90%.

U.S. stocks closed lower following disappointing tech earnings of Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. as well as continued slide in oil prices pushed the broader U.S. markets into losses on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 68.25 points, or 0.4%, to 17,851.04. The S&P 500-stock index lost 5.06 points, or 0.2%, to 2,114.15. The Nasdaq shed 36.35 points, or 0.7%, to 5,171.77, as Apple, its heaviest-weighted stock, slid 4.2%.

The price of oil closed below USD 50 for the first time since April after the government reported a surprise increase in United States crude inventories. WTI crude fell USD 1.67 to close at USD 49.19 a barrel in New York. Brent crude fell 91 cents to close at $56.13 a barrel in London.

Gold futures dropped for a tenth straight session to end at a 5-1/2-year low on Wednesday, as the dollar strengthened against some major currencies and with investors convinced the Federal Reserve will finally raise interest rates by the year end, diminishing gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. Gold lost USD 12, to USD 1,091.50 an ounce.

European equity markets closed in the red on Wednesday, as U.S. technology earnings disappointed investors and the fall in commodity prices weighed on sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished the day around 0.6% lower. The French CAC and German DAX closed down around 0.5% and 0.7% respectively. Spain's IBEX 35 however eked out some gains, ending around 0.2% higher. Britain's FTSE 100 index finished trade around 1.5% lower due to fall in metals stretching from gold to copper, shares of the miners.

Asian stocks rose as a rally in Japanese equities countered a decline in mining shares amid a deepening commodities rout. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 index gained 0.6% while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed. South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.1%. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index opened up 1%, on course for a six-session winning streak. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index picked up 0.45%, recovering from Wednesday's drop.

A SGX CNX Nifty Index future for July delivery was down 2 points at 8,637. Indian markets likely to open flat. Alstom T&D India, Austin Engineering, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Holdings, Biocon, Dewan Housing Finance, GAIL, Granules India, KKCL, L&T Finance Holdings, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Lupin, Nocil, Rallis India, Sterlite Technologies, TTK PRESTIGE, SQS India, UFO Moviez, Wendt (India) and Wipro would be reporting first quarter earnings today.