Some silver lining may be seen in the markets today

Indian equities market succumbed to selling pressure on Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed global growth forecast with the continued slide in oil prices and a weakening rupee. The Sensex crashed 1.7% or 417 points to 24,062.04 and the Nifty 50 depreciated 125.80 points, or 1.69%, to 7,309.30; the index has fallen to 20 months low, similar to a time when the NDA government came into power. However, the market recovered about 1% in the last half-an-hour of trade. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 2.0% each. Indian rupee has weakened to a 28-month low of Rs 68 per dollar.

U.S. stocks finished the day sharply lower on Wednesday, but a late rally helped the markets recover most of its ground, lost to an early oil-price-induced selloff. The Dow closed off 249 points, or 1.56%, quoting 15,766.74. The S&P 500-stock index fell 22 points, or 1.17%, quoting 1,859.33. The Nasdaq composite index closure barely changed, 5.26 points lower, or 0.12%.

Crude oil prices resumed their slide. The price of a barrel of crude oil reached the lowest level since May 2003. WTI crude oil was down 6.7%, to settle at USD 26.55 a barrel in trading for February futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

European stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, registering its lowest close in more than a year, due to a sharp drop in oil prices. The Stoxx Europe 600 sank 3.2% to 322.29. The FTSE 100 slumped 3.5% to 5,673.58. Germany’s DAX 30 logged a 2.8% loss at 9,391.64; and France’s CAC 40 was 3.5% lower quoting 4,124.95.

Asian markets mostly advanced on Thursday, despite another selloff in the US stock market overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.10% after losing 3.71% in the previous session. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.1%. South Korea’s Kospi index was up by 0.4%; while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index slid 0.42%. Shanghai Composite index recovered half its earlier losses and traded 0.56% lower.

While on domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for January Series traded up 45 points at 7,361. Indian markets may open in the positive following other Asian markets.