Subdued Asian markets indicate negative opening for the Indian indices

The Indian benchmark indices on Wednesday got off to slight positive start and thereafter, indices turned jittery ahead of the announcement of RBI’s policy. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) used a less hawkish tone and reduced the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 0.5 per cent in its second bi-monthly monetary policy for financial year 2017-18. Whereas, RBI left repo and reverse repo rates unchanged at 6.25 per cent and 6 per cent. To end with, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index Nifty got strengthened by over quarter per cent to settle above the crucial 9,650 mark, while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index-Sensex added over eighty points and closed above the psychological 31,250 mark.

The European markets ended Wednesday's session in negative terrain. Traders were in a cautious mood ahead of major events like the European Central Bank’s policy and the U.K. general elections on Thursday. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.14 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.07 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.62 per cent.

U.S stocks closed with marginal gains on Wednesday led by financial sector which helped to cap a sharp drop in energy stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points to close at 21,174. The S&P 500 index rose 4 points to close at 2,433. The Nasdaq Composite index edge up 22 points to close at 6,297.
 
Asian markets were trading subdued on Wednesday. Japan’s markets Nikkei 225 has advanced 9 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 13 points. China’s Shanghai Composite has slipped by 6 points.

At 8:08 am, SGX Nifty Index trading with losses of 20 points at 9,676, indicating a negative start for Indian indices.