Mixed Asian markets, hinting a flat opening for Indian indices

Indian benchmark on Thursday got off to a scintillating start; thereafter the benchmark indices traded in a narrow range, however, in the second part of trading session investors gradually started taking profits off the table and indices closed in positive territory but off the day high. To end with, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty settled with minor gains of fifteen points above the psychological 9,400 mark, while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index - Sensex shed three points and closed above the psychological 30,200 mark.

The majority of European markets ended in negative terrain on Thursday. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.36 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.32 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.02 per cent.  

U.S stocks closed in negative terrain on Thursday, but well of their worst levels of the day, as retail stocks disappointed on the back of weaker-than-expected earnings reports. The Nasdaq Composite retreated from a record, closed down 13 points at 6,116. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 24 points to close at 21,919. The S&P 500 index shed 5 points to close at 2,394.

Asian markets are trading mixed on Friday. Japan’s markets Nikkei 225 fell 138 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 16 points. While China’s Shanghai Composite rose 6 points.

At 8:10 am SGX Nifty Index trading with marginal gains of 3 points at 9,442, indicating a flat start for Indian indices.