Nifty may stay flat during the opening hour

Indian equities market ended higher for third straight day as indices reversed all their losses owing to sustained foreign capital inflows amid weakness in the global market. The Sensex was up 45.12 points or 0.2% at 25330.49; and the Nifty was up by 10.65 points or 0.1% at 7714.90. The broader markets displayed a firm trend, with the Mid-cap index rising 0.52%; and the Small-cap index 0.27%.

Defence stocks have been in focus after the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) in the Parliament, which expected to give a boost to Indian defence sector and would facilitate acquisitions.

U.S. stocks closed in the mix on Tuesday after opening lower, and were mainly shaken off by the deadly terror strikes at an airport and metro station in Brussels. The S&P 500 reversed small gains to close down 1.80 points, or 0.1%, at 2,049.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 41.30 points, or 0.2%, quoting 17,582.57, snapping a seven-session winning streak. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite ended up 12.79 points, or 0.3%, at 4,821.66.

European stocks opened moderately lower but mostly recovered. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.2% to end at 340.30. In Paris, the CAC 40 managed to close up 0.1% at 4,431.97, and Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.4% to finish at 9,990. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.1% higher at 6,192.74.

Asian shares consolidated in muted trade on Wednesday morning as investors digested the deadly terror attacks in Brussels. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index retreated 0.1% after earlier rising as much as 0.6%. While South Korea’s Kospi traded flatly. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.58% and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index advanced 0.10%. Chinese markets swung between gains and losses, with the Shanghai composite sliding 0.16%.

While on domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for March series traded up 5 points at 7,729. Indian markets are likely to open flat.