Markets may open positive, but may remain dull in the wake of lacklustre global cues and domestic political uncertainty

After a somewhat listless start and a subsequent sluggish display, the Indian stock market moved higher on Thursday, with front line counters from automobile, information technology, pharma and metal sectors attracting buyers. The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index, Nifty gained over fifty points to regain its psychological 8,750 support level; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive index -- Sensex surged by over one hundred and fifty points to finish above its psychological 28,300 mark. Broader markets too traded in-line with benchmarks and ended the session with a gain of over a percentage point.

The European markets ended Thursday's session with modest losses. Profit taking played a role in the pullback, after the market witnessed a winning streak of seven straight sessions. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.31 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.52 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.34 per cent.

U.S. stock indexes snapped a multi-session streak of simultaneous records on Thursday, weighed down by a decline in energy stocks, with the Dow Jones being the only index to gain another record high at the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 7.91 points. While the Nasdaq Composite index closed down 4.54 points and the S&P 500 index finished down 2.03 points.

Asian shares are trading with mixed sentiments, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 110 points, while on the other hand the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite gained 0.35 and 0.18 per cent respectively.

At 8:08 am, SGX Nifty index has gained 39.50 points to 8,827.50, indicating a solid start for Indian equities.