Lower opening on cards

Domestic indices saw a gap down opening on the back of weak global cues and thereafter indices drifted lower to end in negative terrain for the third day in a row. The BSE Sensex plunged 216 points to finish at 31,798 and the Nifty lost around 71 points ending at 9,908.

The European markets ended Wednesday’s session on a dismal note. The DAX of Germany plunged 1.12 per cent and the CAC 40 of France tumbled 1.40 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. slipped 0.59 per cent.

U.S stock ended Wednesday’s session with losses as tensions between North Korea and the United States have escalated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 37 points to close at 22,049 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 18 points to settle at 6,352 and the S&P 500 slid a point to close at 2,474.

The majority of Asian stocks are trading in negative terrain in early trade on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has dipped 2 points. Hong Kong Hang Seng has tumbled 372 points. China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 4 points.

Indian benchmark indices are set to open lower tracking shabby cues from global peers and the SGX Nifty which was trading at 9,896 down by 21 points is indicating a weak start for the day.

Key stocks which will report their quarterly earnings on Thursday are as follows Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Bharat Forge, MOIL, Bhel, Union Bank of India, Manappuram Finance, GAIL, Power Finance Corporation, Petronet LNG and Deepak Fertilizers.