Subdued opening likely for the markets amid muted global cues

Markets in India are likely to see a soft opening as cues from the global peers are subdued. The SGX Nifty, suggest that Nifty could open with a marginal gain of 4 points around the level of 11,763. 
  
Most of the Asian indices are trading with a positive bias on Wednesday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has surged 0.53 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng has advanced 0.19 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite, coming under slight pressure, is down by 0.34 per cent.  
  
Back home, fireworks continued on Dalal Street as the key benchmark indices extended their northward journey for the second successive session with BSE Sensex and Nifty hitting yet another closing high and settling above their crucial 38,800 and 11,700 levels, respectively.  Despite positive closure, the market breadth remained weak with just 748 advances and 1044 declines on the NSE. The broader market indices underperformed the benchmarks as Nifty Mid-cap closed down by 0.28 per cent and Nifty Small-cap advanced 0.10 per cent. On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank ended as the worst performer with 1.5 per cent loss, while Nifty Metal topped, gaining 1.82 per cent.  

Overnight, the US stocks rose slightly on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq settling at closing highs for the third day after the measure of consumer confidence jumped to 133.4 in August, nearly a 18-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 14 points to finish at 26,064; the S&P 500 index crossed 2,900 mark for the first time before giving up most of its gains to end flat at 2,898, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 12 points to close at 8,030.   
  
The European markets ended Tuesday session mostly in the green. The euro rose to fresh one-month high against the dollar, which weighed on shares of exporters. The DAX of Germany dipped 0.09 per cent; CAC 40 of France gained 0.11 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 ended higher by 0.52 per cent.