Market may open flat to slightly lower

Indian benchmark on Wednesday got off to a positive start as investors were influenced by optimistic leads from Asian and US markets. But, it slipped into negative terrain and thereafter it moved in a narrow range for the most part of the trading session. At the end of the day, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, suffered a modest loss of around two points to settle above the crucial 9,300 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index-Sensex- slipped around twenty-six points and closed below the psychological 29,900.

The government approved the National Steel Policy 2017, aimed to provide drive to the steel industry.

The European markets ended Wednesday’s session with mixed results. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.16 per cent, but the CAC 40 in France fell 0.06 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.21 per cent.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as expected.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed marginally higher at 20,958. The Nasdaq Composite shed 23 points to close at 6,073. The S&P 500 closed 3 points lower at 2,388.

Asian markets are trading on a negative note on Thursday. Japan’s markets are shut on account of public holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 135 points. China’s Shanghai Composite shed 14 points.

At 8:13 am, SGX Nifty Index was trading lower by 8 points at 9332, indicating flat to negative start for Indian indices.