A gap-down opening likely following negative global cues

Indian markets are likely to witness a gap-down opening as the cues from global markets are depressing after the US Fed raised interest rate for the fourth time this year, which was in line with what most market participants had anticipated, but signalled two more hikes in 2019. The SGX Nifty indicates Nifty could open around the level of 10,895 with loss of 0.82 per cent.   
  
Asian stocks are trading in the negative terrain on Thursday as on the Wall Street major indices closed at fresh lows of 2018 after the Fed hiked interest rates and indicated more gradual hikes ahead. The Japanese stock market Nikkei 225 has plunged 1.80 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.61 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index has weakened by 0.33 per cent.  
  
Back home, bulls continued to dominate as the equity benchmark indices continued their winning streak for the seventh consecutive trading session on Wednesday. Nifty gained 0.54 per cent to 10,967 and the BSE Sensex rallied 0.38 per cent to close at 36,484. The broader market indices Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap outperformed the benchmark and closed higher by 1.29 and 1.27 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, all the indices, barring Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma, ended in the green. Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank gained the most.  
  
The US equities started the session modestly higher, aided by solid economic news as a report from the National Association of Realtors unexpectedly showed a significant increase in existing home sales in November. However, the indices moved decisively lower after the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision wherein it raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point and signalled ‘gradual’ hikes were still ahead, but at a slower pace than initially planned. With this, the indices ended Wednesday’s session at their lowest level in over a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.49 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 2.17 per cent and the S&P 500 declined 1.54 per cent.  
  
The European markets closed in the positive terrain on Wednesday following reports that Italy and the European Commission had made an informal agreement to resolve a lengthy budget deficit standoff. The DAX of Germany rose 0.24 per cent, the CAC of France advanced 0.49 per cent and UK’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.96 per cent.