Muted start for the domestic markets likely

Indian equities managed to settle with marginal gains after oscillating in a narrow range near the flat line throughout the session on Wednesday. The broader indices ended with notable gains; the BSE Mid-cap index gained 0.97 per cent, while the Small-cap index was up by 1.12 per cent. The benchmark indices BSE Sensex gained about 36 points to finish at 31,246 and the Nifty 50 ended higher by 24 points to 9,638.

Most of the European markets ended Wednesday’s session with nominal gains. The DAX of Germany climbed 0.13 per cent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.10 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the UK. gained 0.14 per cent.

Following the July 4 holiday, the US markets resumed trading on Wednesday, with both Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing in the positive terrain, while Dow Industrials finishing flat with a negative bias. The minutes of the June meeting of the US Federal Reserve were released on Wednesday; the Federal Reserve plans to reduce its bloated balance sheet, but it failed to provide a specific timeline to begin the process. The Dow Jones Industrial slipped by 1 point, S&P 500 index rose up 4 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index surged 41 points to finish at 6,151.  
 
Asian markets were trading weak in early trade on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has slid 54 points to 20,027; Hong Kong index Hang Seng has edged down 37 points to 25,485 and China’s Shanghai Composite has dropped 4 points to 3,203.
 
The outlook for the day is a flat start with negative bias. SGX Nifty Index Futures, which were trading at 9,648, down by 7 points, is hinting at a muted start for domestic markets.