No sign of a strong market anywhere, get ready for yet another weak opening

The Indian Market extending its losing run for a second straight day line with the global markets on account of increasing risk aversion. IT stocks seen under selling pressure after a disappointing quarterly forecast from Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, India's third-biggest software company. The Sensex ended down 266.44 points or 1.1% at 24020.98 while the Nifty slipped 89.05 points or 1.2% at 7298.20. The Broader markets were also witnessing selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap index was down 1.91% and the small-cap index declined 1.34%.

U.S. stocks extended their three-day losing streak Tuesday, closing slightly lower after another bumpy day. Stocks continue to swing on turbulent oil prices, which plunged around 6% on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16014, after falling close to 146 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 index slipped 1 point to 1,852. The Nasdaq composite edged down 15 points, or 0.35%, to 4,268.

Oil prices finished lower on Tuesday for a fourth-straight session, as lower price outlooks for this year and the global demand will not grow quickly enough to erase the overhang of crude any time soon. WTI settled down USD 1.75, or 5.9%, at USD 27.94 a barrel and it has posted six losing sessions out of the last seven, sinking nearly 16% in that span. Brent crude fell USD 2.56, or 7.8%, to USD 30.32 a barrel and it has lost 13% during a four-session losing streak.

European stock markets fell sharply Tuesday, languishing at their worst in more than two years as fears of a global economic slowdown persisted. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was driven down 1.6% to 309.31. Germany’s DAX 30 index lost another 1.1% to close at 8,879.40, and France’s CAC 40 index gave up 1.7% to 3,997.54, a new 52-week low. Spain’s IBEX ended 2.4% lower at 7,927.60 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index lost 1% at 5,632.19. Greece’s Athex Composite dropped 2.9% to 450.83.

Asian markets are more sensitive to moves in Japanese stocks this week, as Japan is the only significant Asian market open while China’s stock market remains closed throughout the week for the celebration of Lunar New Year. Japanese stocks extended losses fell 2% after sinking 5.4% on Tuesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 2.2%.

While on domestic front, a SGX Nifty 50 index future for February series traded down 68 points at 7,260. Indian markets are likely to open weak as Japanese stocks market open weak.