Sensex, Nifty today: Will Indian stock market open flat? Gift Nifty signals cautious start

Sensex, Nifty today: Indian equity benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, are expected to open flat to slightly negative on Thursday, December 18, extending the cautious mood seen over the past three sessions. Weak global cues and subdued investor sentiment may keep markets range-bound in early trade.

Gift Nifty

Early signals from the Gift Nifty suggest a muted opening. At around 8:27 am, Gift Nifty was trading near 25,879, down 6.5 points, or 0.03 per cent, from the previous Nifty futures close.

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Market closes lower for third straight session

On Wednesday, domestic markets slipped for the third consecutive session. Concerns over the persistent weakness in the rupee, continued foreign fund outflows, and delays in finalising the India-US trade agreement weighed on sentiment.

The Sensex ended 120 points lower at 84,559.65, a decline of 0.14 per cent. The Nifty 50 fell 42 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 25,818.55.

Asian markets trade weak

Markets across the Asia-Pacific region were under pressure on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.53 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.36 per cent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.3 per cent. Investor caution remained high amid weakness in US technology stocks and ahead of an address by US President Donald Trump.

Wall Street ends in the red

Overnight, US markets closed lower. The S&P 500 slipped 1.16 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.81 per cent as concerns around the artificial intelligence trade weighed on technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined 0.47 per cent.

FII and DII activity

In institutional activity, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs 1,449.22 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors also bought shares worth Rs 587.16 crore.

Crude oil prices edge higher

Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday. Brent crude was up 1.29 per cent at $59.68 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.64 per cent to trade at $56.86 per barrel.