Market likely to open flat to negative

Indian equities indices ended lower for 4th straight day due to sentiment remaining cautious ahead of expiry of May derivative contracts due on Thursday. Further, prospects of early interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in June and a slippage in crude oil prices also hurt market participants' sentiment. The Sensex closed 71.54 points or 0.28% down at 25,230.36; while Nifty settled 18.65 points, or 0.24% lower at 7,731.05. The broader markets, too, saw selling pressure as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 0.29% and 0.38% respectively.

U.S. stocks finished lower Monday, giving up early gains as concerns over the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates next month. Energy stocks fell along with the price of crude oil. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8.01 points or 0.05% to 17,492.93. The S&P 500 index fell 4.28 points, or 0.2% to 2,048.04 and the Nasdaq composite lost 3.78 points, or 0.1% to 4,765.78. WTI crude shed 33 cents to USD 48.08 per barrel and Brent crude fell 37 cents to USD 48.35 a barrel.

European stocks closed lower Monday as investors digested a fall in oil prices, also due to mixed data out of the euro zone and the prospect of a U.S. rate hike in June. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% to end at 336.69. Germany’s DAX 30 closed down 0.7% at 9,842.29. France’s CAC 40 was off 0.7% at 4,325.10, and the U.K’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.3% at 6,136.43.

Asian markets opened lower on Tuesday as a rebound in the yen weighed on Japanese shares and also as investors await further cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.69% owing to fresh strength in the yen against the dollar. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.11% as the Kospi gauge in Seoul declined 0.61%. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 0.4%. Chinese markets also traded lower, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.71%.

On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for May series is trading down by 6.5 points at 7,730. Indian markets are likely to open flat to negative due to weak global cues. Investors will be keeping an eye on Ahluwalia Contracts, Amara Raja Batteries, Bajaj Finance, Cipla, Dhanuka Agritech, Page Industries, Tata Global Beverages, Tech Mahindra and Wonderla Holidays, results of which are due for release today.