Market likely open in green

Indian equities swung between gains and losses in a dull trade on Wednesday as investors booked profits on recent outperformers. The Nifty index was up 6.60 points at 8273.05 and the Sensex closed up 10.99 points at 27020.66. The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The Mid-cap index advanced 0.5% while the Small-cap index jumped nearly 1%.

US stocks rose Wednesday due to a continued increase in the price of crude oil, which closed above USD 51 a barrel for the first time since last July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.77 points, or 0.4%, to close at 18,005.05. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to 2119 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 12.89 points, or 0.3%, to end at 4,974.64.

European stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday, and snapped a three-day winning streak. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5% to finish at 344.56. Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.7% to 10.217.03, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.6% to end at 4,448.73. Meanwhile, The U.K’s FTSE 100 gained a modest 0.3% to close at 6,301.52, owing to advances in crude-oil futures.

Mostly Asian markets opened lower on Thursday, as a weaker dollar weighed on Japan's shares and the Bank of Korea surprised markets by cutting its policy rate by 25 basis points to a record-low of 1.25%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index pulled back 1% due to stronger yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index is swinging between gains and losses, while the Kospi index in Seoul has gained 0.1%. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.1%. Financial markets in Hong Kong and China are closed for Thursday.

On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for June series is trading up by 14 points at 8,298. Indian markets are likely to open in green tracking SGX Nifty. Investors also remained cautious ahead of April industrial production (IIP) data due on Friday.