Markets may open flat following directionless Asian peers

Indian markets are expected to witness a flat start as Asian peers are lacking clear direction. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty is likely to open around 10,947, up by 15 points. The earnings of Indigo, ITC, Pidilite Industries, Radico, Raymond, Ujjivan, United Spirits, Vijaya Bank are scheduled to be announced today. 
  
Asian equity markets are struggling for direction on Wednesday after overnight sell-off on the Wall Street. Hong Kong’s index Hang Seng has added 0.36 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.04 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite index has dipped 0.04 per cent. 
  
Back home, after making a tentative start on Tuesday, the markets traded in the negative terrain throughout the session, but in the last leg of the trading, markets came of their lows and ended the day in the red with Nifty shedding 0.36 per cent and BSE Sensex losing 0.37 per cent. The broader indices ended the day just below the neutral line with Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap dipping 0.11 and 0.22 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral performance, Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank plunged 2.21, 1.38 and 0.99 per cent, respectively, on the other hand, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty jumped 1.81 and 0.74 per cent, respectively. 
  
The US stock markets opened lower on Tuesday amid fear of a global slowdown increased after the IMF slashed its 2019 global growth forecast. Thereafter, the losses accelerated on the back of higher-than-expected drop in existing home sales and reports that the White House rejected an offer by China for preparatory talks ahead of a key meeting later his month, but National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow cleared that the reports were false. In the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.22 per cent, the S&P 500 index plunged 1.42 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.91 per cent. 
  
European stocks ended Tuesday session in the red amid lingering worries about the US-China trade dispute and the Brexit uncertainty. The DAX of Germany lost 0.41 per cent, the CAC of France edged down by 0.42 per cent and the FTSE 100 of the UK dropped nearly 1 per cent.