Markets may open flat to fairly positive, surrounded by positive vibes of global peers

Indian benchmark indices got off to a positive start, largely influenced by the supportive leads from Asian peers. Thereafter, the indices slowly and steadily started gathering more steam, and as the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in March from 50.7, indices surged to intraday high levels, after which there was no looking back. Finally, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index, Nifty, got strengthened by over half a per cent to settle above the important psychological mark of 9200, while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index-Sensex advanced around three hundred points and closed above the psychological 29900 mark.

The European markets fluctuated between small gains and losses throughout Tuesday's session, and ended the day with mixed results. However, the majority of the markets finished with modest gains. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.21 per cent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.30 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.54 per cent.

The U.S stocks ended with marginal gains on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 39 points to finish at 20,689. The S&P 500 rose 1 point at 2360 at closing. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended up by 4 points at 5,899.

Asian stocks are trading with positive sentiments on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 44 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 54 points and the Shanghai Composite surged 27 points.

At 8:10 am, SGX Nifty index was trading up by 9.50 points at 9289.50, indicating a flat to positive start for Indian equities.