Markets may open higher amid positive global vibes

Indian markets may open flat to slightly higher on Wednesday mirroring the strength in the global markets as also reacting to the sharp fall in Brent crude prices which continued to fall more than 2 per cent below the $76 a barrel. A mild positive trend in the SGX Nifty index future, which was trading at 10,230, up by a couple of points, also indicated flat to positive opening. On the earnings front, among Nifty 50 companies, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors and Vedanta will release their results today. On the macroeconomic front, market participants will look forward to India Eight Infrastructure Industries Index for the month of September due later in the day.  
  
Asian stock markets headed northward on Wednesday, cheered by a jump on the Wall Street. The Japanese stock market Nikkei 225 has climbed 1.53 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.74 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has risen 1.10 per cent.  
  
Back home, after having a shaky start to the session, the key benchmark indices made an attempt to build upon the gains made in the previous session. However, the bear’s did not allow the indices to hold on to the gains as volatile moves were seen in the second half of trading session and the indices ended Tuesday’s session in the red. At the end, Nifty slipped below the 10,200 mark, down by 0.51 per cent and BSE Sensex declined 176 points to settle below the 34,000 mark. The broader indices outperformed the frontline indices as the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap gained 0.69 and 1.45 per cent, respectively. Talking about sectoral indices, it was a mixed performance with Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media emerging top gainers, while Nifty Metal and Nifty Private Bank ending as top losers.   
  
The US stocks witnessed a strong bounce-back on Tuesday as a report showed a continued increase in consumer confidence in the month of October. The US consumer confidence rose in October to an 18-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 1.8 per cent; the S&P 500 finished with a 1.6 per cent gain and the tech-heavy Nasdaq booked 1.6 per cent gain.  
  
The European equities finished mixed on Tuesday as Q3 Eurozone GDP growth came in below the estimates, along with October economic and business confidence reports for the region. The DAX of Germany fell 0.42 per cent, the CAC of France decreased 0.22 per cent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.14 per cent.