Markets may open on a flat-to-positive note

Indian benchmark indices may open with modest gains as cues from Asian peers are mixed. As per early SGX indication, Nifty Fut (Nov) may open around 10,372, with gains of 18 points at the opening bell.  

Equity markets in Asia  lacked direction on Thursday, as was the case overnight with the US markets.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has inched up 69 points, China’s Shanghai Composite has shed 13 points, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 is closed for Labour Thanksgiving Day.   

Back home, the sideways consolidation in the markets  continued  for the third straight session on Wednesday as markets closed with modest gains. The broader markets ended mixed as Nifty Small-Cap index rose 0.52%, while Nifty Mid-Cap index ended just below the neutral line. Sector-wise, Nifty Media was top performer as it jumped 2.61% followed by PSU Bank and FMCG. At the end of the session, Nifty gained 15 points to finish at 10,342 and the BSE Sensex rose 83 points to close at 33,562.   

The US stocks turned lacklustre following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting. The minutes indicated that an interest rate hike is likely, but the pace of future tightening could be more moderate than expected, given the muted inflation. The Dow and S&P 500 ended slightly lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq bucked the trend and inched up to a new record closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 65 points to close at 23,526 and the S&P 500 shed 2 points to finish at 2,597, while the Nasdaq gained 5 points to settle at 6,867.  

The European indices ended Wednesday’s session with mixed results. The DAX of Germany edged down 1.16%, CAC 40 of France slipped 0.25% and the FTSE 100 of the UK inched up 0.10%