Sensex, Nifty may open flat with negative bias

Sensex, Nifty may open flat with negative bias

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are likely to open flat with negative bias on Thursday tracking SGX Nifty and mixed Asian cues. However, markets are likely to remain volatile throughout the day on account of F&O expiry.

At 8.29 am (IST), SGX Nifty was down 40.50 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 7,816.50.

Wall Street lost ground on Wednesday, dragged down by economic reports portraying US factory growth as tepid and China in its worst manufacturing contraction since the global financial crisis. Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 0.31 per cent at 16279.89.

Hang Seng and Nikkei were down 0.64 per cent and 17,647.45 at 21,167.61 and 17,647.45 on Thursday. Shanghai was up 0.80 per cent at 3140.90.

Back home, Sensex and Nifty gained 0.67 per cent and 0.43 per cent at 25822.99 and 7845.95, respectively. Stock markets opened lower on Wednesday but recovered during the day on account of positive cues from Europe and comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping that a cheaper currency would not be used to boost exports.