Indices set for a flat start

The saying, "no news is bad news," has proved to be true for the Indian markets, as bears tighten their grip on D-Street on the previous trading session. Market participants were eagerly waiting for some exciting news from domestic and foreign shores. Last week, several media reports indicated that some tax reliefs on personal tax front are on the card to boost consumption; however, the wait is not over as yet. Furthermore, there is no news of the development of trade talks between the US and China and, as a result, the markets have slipped lower. On Wednesday, the Indian markets are likely to witness a flat start, as the SGX Nifty suggests that the Nifty may open with a 5 point gains at 11,912 levels. Moreover, its Asian peers are trading muted. The level of 11,800 is crucial for the Nifty.
 
The Asian markets lacked a clear direction on Wednesday following a modest decline on Wall Street in overnight trade. Further, market participants remained on sidelines, ahead of the crucial US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision. Currently, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading lower by 0.23 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite are trading flat with positive bias.
 
Back home, after an indecisive day on Monday, the markets took some directional bias on Tuesday and ended the session in the red. The Nifty lost 0.68 per cent to end at 11,857 and the BSE Sensex dropped 0.61 per cent to 40,240 levels. The broader markets underperformed as both, the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap, ended with losses of 1.28 and 1.13 per cent, respectively. On the sector front, all the indices ended in red, with Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank becoming the top losers.
 
Here is what happened overnight in the western markets, the US stocks market put in a twisty and slightly weak performance on Tuesday, as the picture remains unclear about trade talks between the US and China. In the end, the Dow was down by 28 points, the NASDAQ slipped 6 points, and the S&P 500 lost 3 points. Meanwhile, the European markets ended on a mixed note, as the markets were looking forward to some key events this week in the region, including Thursday’s European Central Bank monetary policy decision and the UK general election that is poised to have a major impact on the path of the UK leaving the EU.