Markets may open with marginal gains despite negative global cues

India equities may open a tad higher on Thursday, shrugging off negative cues from the US markets overnight and mixed trend prevailing in the Asian markets. The SGX Nifty Index Future, which was up by 30 points, suggests Nifty may open around the level of 10,631. Market participants will be interested in India’s trade balance numbers which are due to be announced today.   
  
There is no clear visible trend in the Asian markets on the backdrop of the sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has added 0.60 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index has lost 0.41 per cent and the Japanese stock market Nikkei 225 has dipped 0.25 per cent.  
  
Back home, frontline indices made a positive start as traders took encouragement from falling crude oil prices and a strong rupee. However, markets started to give up the gains from the high point of the day and traded most part of the session in a capped range with bouts of volatility. In the end, Nifty dipped 0.06 per cent and BSE Sensex closed almost unchanged. The broader indices performed in line with frontline gauges as the Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap edged down 0.03 and 0.21 per cent, respectively. The sectoral indices displayed a mixed performance with Nifty PSU Bank gaining the most by 2.04 per cent, while Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma dropped 2.45 and 2.19 per cent, respectively.  
  
The US equities witnessed a roller-coaster ride before closing firmly in the negative terrain on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.8 per cent; the S&P 500 slid 0.8 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 0.9 per cent. In the economic news, the US labour department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 per cent in October in line with forecasts.  
  
The European stocks moved lower on Wednesday as Italy re-submitted its draft 2019 budget to the European Commission with the same growth and deficit assumption as the previous draft that was rejected for breaking European Union rules, setting the stage for another showdown with the EU over its fiscal policy. In the economic news, Eurozone GDP grew at a 0.2% Q-o-Q, the least growth in four years, as German GDP was a strain on the region with its output contracting 0.2% Q-o-Q and was below expectations. The DAX of Germany weakened by 0.52 per cent, the CAC of France slipped 0.65 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 0.28 per cent.