Market Likely To Open Flat

Indian equity market saw heavy gains on Thursday on the back of short coverings, firm global cues and banking on spate of policy reform announcements of the government on Wednesday. The Sensex ended the day 359 points, or 1.41%, higher at 25,842 while the Nifty50 closed at 7,843, up 111 points or 1.4%. Not only equity benchmarks but the broader markets also gained strength. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rallied 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

After a strong rally on Wednesday, US stocks struggled for direction and ended the day little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 4.41 points, little changed on a percentage basis, to 17732.75. The S&P 500 fell 2.34 points, or 0.1%, to 2081.24. The Nasdaq Composite edged down just 1.56 points to 5073.64.

U.S. crude closed lower on Thursday on pressure from large inventory builds, while Brent oil erased its early losses to trade steady on support from a weak dollar and higher gasoline prices. Brent futures were up 8 cents at USD 44.22 a barrel, after hitting a session low of USD 43.70. U.S. crude's benchmark WTI futures settled down 21 cents, or 0.52%, at USD 40.54 a barrel, after snapping below the key USD 40-a-barrel support for a second time since Wednesday.

European stock markets rebounded on Thursday, boosted by further signs of a potential U.S. rate hike as soon as next month, although investors continued to focus on developments in Paris following Friday's terrorist attacks. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP finished up 0.4% at 380.96. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX rose 0.8% to end at 6,329.93, and Germany’s DAX 40 DAX bounced up 1.1% to finish at 11,085.44. France’s CAC 40 leapt 0.2% to close at 4,915.10.

The euro has weakened against the dollar on the prospect of further stimulus from the ECB and a move toward higher rates in the U.S. The euro rose 0.7% to USD 1.0735 Thursday, but remains down 4% since the start of October.

Asian equities opened mixed on Friday after U.S. markets trimmed some of its gains to close marginally lower, as investors grappled with the prospects of higher U.S. borrowing costs and slower global economic growth. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 index slipped 0.53%, paring a fifth week of gains, as the yen held Thursday’s 0.6% advance. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.32% and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 0.54%. South Korea’s Kospi index traded at flat. Chinese markets opened mixed after the People's Bank of China announced it will further slash interest rates on the loans it gives to banks.

A SGX Nifty 50 Index future for November delivery was down 16 points at 7,840. Indian market is likely to open flat due to mixed global cues.