Markets may open flat

Indian shares are expected to open flat with positive bias as cues from global peers are supportive. The SGX Nifty is trading with gains of 5 points at 10,460, indicating a flat start at the opening bell.   

Majority of the Asian markets are trading with moderate gains.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 74 points, China’s Shanghai Composite has added 3 points, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 has slipped 6 points.  

Back home, benchmark indices settled marginally lower as buying interest was somewhat subdued. The broader market outshined the benchmark indices as Nifty Mid-cap and Small-Cap indices surged 1.08% and 1.52%, respectively. Sector-wise, Nifty Metal ended higher by 0.88%, followed by Nifty Realty. At the closing bell, BSE Sensex declined 21 points to close at 33,756 and Nifty settled at 10,440 with a loss of 4 points.   

In the US, major averages closed with modest gains on Thursday, led by gains in the energy, financials and telecom sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56 points to 24,782, the tech-laden Nasdaq added 4 points to 6,965 and the S&P 500 gained 5 points to 2,685.  

European markets ended their losing streak and closed with solid gains on Thursday.  The DAX of Germany edged up 0.32%, CAC 40 of France gained 0.62%, while FTSE 100 of the UK jumped 1.04%.