Market May Open Flat

The Indian equity market snapped a six-day losing streak on Thursday as investors bought into beaten down shares such as Reliance Industries, Hindalco and Tata Steel. However, sentiment remained cautious ahead of the next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting where interest rates are expected to go north for the first time in nearly a decade and a possible delay in the passage of key reform GST bill. The Sensex is up 216.27 points or 0.9% at 25252.32, and the Nifty up 70.80 points or 0.9% at 7683.30.

Shares of shipping companies are trading higher after the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave nod to the proposal for introducing steps to encourage shipbuilding and ship repair industry in India under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, but mostly shook off pressure from further decline in oil prices as beaten-down sectors such as energy were among the top gainers. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 82.45 points, or 0.5%, to 17,574.75. The S&P 500 index rose 4.61 points, or 0.2%, to 2,052.23. The Nasdaq composite increased 22.31 points, or 0.4%, to 5,045.17.

U.S. crude oil futures settled down 40 cents, or 1.08%, at USD 36.76 a barrel. Earlier, crude hit a fresh near-seven-year low of USD 36.52 a barrel. OPEC said its November production reached a 2009 high, according to Dow Jones. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 38 cents, or 0.9%, to USD 39.73 a barrel in London.

European equities closed mixed on Thursday as investors eyed the continued rout in oil prices and other commodities. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.3% to finish at 363.21, closing it at its lowest level since Oct. 21. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index closed 0.6% lower at 6,088.05. Germany’s DAX 30 index rose 0.1% at 10,598.93, paring some of its earlier gains. France’s CAC 40 index slipped less than 0.1% to 4,635.06.

Asian markets traded mixed on Friday, despite Wall Street's positive finish overnight, as record low oil prices weighed resources plays and China shares opened in negative territory as investors awaited data on Chinese retail sales and industrial production over the weekend.

The Nikkei 225 was back in positive territory on the final trading day of the week, up 189 points, or 0.99%, at 19,235. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fluctuated while South Korea’s Kospi index shaved early gains and was down 6.3, or 0.32%, at 1,946. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 0.5%. The main Shanghai Composite index was down 19 points, or 0.55%, at 3,437.

A SGX Nifty 50 Index future for December delivery was down 9 points at 7,660. Indian market may open flat.