Expect a flat opening of the markets

Indian benchmark indices surged nearly one per cent, started off the Christmas week on a firm note driven by rally in the sectors of banking, metal while PSU stocks as buying were  picked up. BSE metal index topped gainers' list among sectorial benchmarks as the government decided to slate a minimum import price (MIP) for steel in order to prevent cheap imported steel from flooding the market. The Sensex ended up 216.68 points or 0.8% at 25735.90 and the Nifty was up 72.50 points or 0.9% at 7834.45. In broader markets, the BSE small-cap rose 0.82% and mid-cap ended 0.64% higher on the fresh spell of buying by retail investors.

U.S. stocks ended higher at start of holiday-shortened week with gains as investors shrugged off weak oil prices. The S&P 500 rose 15.60 points, or 0.8%, to 2,021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.07 points, or 0.7%, to 17251.62. The S&P 500 rose 15.60 points, or 0.8%, to 2021.15, while the Nasdaq Composite added 45.84 points, or 0.9%, to 4968.92.

Brent crude-oil prices fell Monday to their lowest level since 2004 concerns of global oversupply, falling 1.4% to USD 36.35 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate was changing hands at USD 34.74 US at the end of the trading day on Monday, roughly flat for the day.

Shares in Europe meanwhile extended losses on Monday as Spanish stocks took a tumble and the rout in oil prices continued to trouble investors. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.1%. Germany’s DAX lost 1%, giving up earlier gains. France’s CAC 40 shaved off 1.3% to 4,565.17 and the U.K’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3% to 6,034.84. Spain’s IBEX 35 stock index lost 3.6% after the ruling Popular Party failed to win sufficient votes to form a government on its own, a rebuke by voters to unpopular austerity measures. Spanish government bonds sank. The country’s 10-year bond yield rose 0.11 percentage point to 1.79%.

Most Asian markets were trading sideways. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was trading 0.15% lower at 18,887.77. South Korea’s Kospi index slide 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gave up the entire early gains and traded at flat while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 0.3%. China's Shanghai Composite index was down 0.3% at 3,631. A SGX Nifty 50 index future for December Series traded at flat. Indian market may open flat.