Markets to open weak in the midst of a low morale global environment

Indian equity benchmarks completed the session on a subdued note on Friday, marginally below the neutral line as market observers, at large remained hesitant to build on long positions amid lacklustre trading on European and Asian bourses. The session largely remained characterised by choppiness as the indices moved slowly and crept towards the previous closing levels after the early decline. Sentiments remained downbeat for the most part of the session owing to the report that India's trade deficit had widened to $13 billion in November, the highest since July 2015 and sharply wider than the $10.41 billion gap in October, as imports, including purchases of gold, outpaced exports of goods.  Finally, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty settled with trivial losses of fourteen points below the psychological 8150 levels; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index - Sensex shed thirty points and closed below the psychological 26500 mark.

European markets finished higher on Friday with shares in Germany leading in the region. The DAX finished up 0.33%; while France's CAC 40 gained 0.29%; and London's FTSE 100 surged 0.18%.

The U.S. stocks fell on Friday, weighed by a more than 4 per cent drop in Oracle shares, while recently battered stocks in the Real Estate and Utilities space, posted the largest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.83 points to 19,843.41, the S&P 500 lost 3.96 points to 2,258.07 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.69 per cent to 5,437.16.

Asian stocks are trading in negative terrain on Monday morning. The Hang Seng is trading with losses of 0.65 per cent, followed by Nikkei 225 and Shanghai Composite,  which are trading lower by 0.26 per cent and 0.20 per cent respectively.

At 7:58 am, SGX Nifty index has fallen 0.21 per cent to 8,130, indicating a weak start for Indian equities.