Market may open with meager gains

The Indian benchmark indices on Wednesday started the session with marginal losses and soon after opening, the indices extend their losses. However, during the afternoon session, the markets shifted into sideways mode for the better part of trading session and showed a pullback toward the end. The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty fell 20 points to settle below the important psychological 9650-mark, while the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, slipped about 14 points to settle at 31,284.

The European markets ended Wednesday's session with minor losses. After getting off to a weak start, the markets remained trapped in a sideways trend throughout the session. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.32 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.37 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the UK declined 0.33 per cent.

The US stocks mostly finished lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow closing lower for a second session in a row. However, tech-heavy index Nasdaq bucked the trend to close at 6,233 with gains of 45 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 55 points to end at 21,411. The S&P 500 shed one point to close at 2,435
 
Asian shares are trading mixed in early trade on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has slipped 21 points; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 3 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite has risen 9 points.
 
At 8:10 am, SGX Nifty index was trading with small gains of 5 points at 9,667, indicating a flat start for Indian indices.