Market may open flat on the last day of the year

Indian equities markets traded on a flat note on Wednesday but selling pressure in the last one hour of trade as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines a day ahead of the December F&O expiry. Nifty shredded 32.70 points to 7896.25 and the Sensex fell 119.45 points to 25960.03 while the broader markets outperformed. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.21% and 0.07% respectively.

On the global front, U.S. markets ended lower on Wednesday due to downturn in crude oil prices dragging down energy company shares. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 117.11 points, or 0.7%, to 17,603.87. The S&P 500 index dropped 15 points, or 0.7%, to 2,063.36. The Nasdaq composite lost 42.09 points, or 0.8%, to 5,065.85.

Crude-oil prices declined as Saudi Arabia reiterated its commitment to keep oil production high and data showed an increase in U.S. crude supplies. WTI crude fell USD 1.27 to close at USD 36.60 a barrel and for a whole year it’s down 39%. Brent crude slid USD 1.33, or 3.5%, to close at USD 36.46 a barrel in London.

European markets ended lower on Wednesday which was the last full day of the year ahead of the New Year holiday. Many European markets will be open only for a half day on Dec. 31. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index had fallen 1.98% to 367.7. Germany's DAX fell 1.1%, while France's CAC 40 lost 0.5%. Britain's FTSE 100 had slipped 0.6%.

Asian stocks mostly opened on negative note on Thursday due to fall in crude oil prices. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.27% while South Korea's KOSPI slide 0.25%. Chinese markets had fluctuated between positive and negative and Shanghai Composite index was down 0.15% at 3,567. Australian market also traded in red, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index down 0.33%.

A SGX Nifty 50 index future for December Series traded up 3 points at 7,941. Indian market may open flat to negative on final day of F&O expiry of the December series.

Lets look forward to an amazing new year ahead.

Safe investing, safe 2016. Stay tuned with us.