Sensex, Nifty likely to open lower amid weak global cues

Indian benchmark indices are likely to open lower as SGX Nifty fell 112 points to 17,874 level amid weak global cues. Singapore Nifty (SGX Nifty) is the Indian Nifty index that is traded in Singapore Stock Exchange and considered to be the first indication of the Indian markets opening.

Benchmark indices closed lower for the second straight session on Wednesday, led by losses in banking, consumer durables and oil and gas shares. Sensex ended 314.04 points lower at 60,008 and Nifty fell 100.55 points to 17,898.

Axis Bank was the top Sensex loser, shedding 1.95 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Dr Reddy's and M&M.

Sahaj Agrawal, Head of Research- Derivatives at Kotak Securities  said, "Nifty has been consolidating since the inception of the November series and is expected to continue to do so for the near term as well. Immediate support is seen at 17,790. The medium-term trend support is seen at 17,400 with targets placed at 18,600-19,000 levels. IT and consumer goods look attractive at current levels. Metals are at critical trend support levels - expect volatility to remain high."

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 344 crore on November 17, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 61 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.

Global markets

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was trading 8 points higher at 7,378. Nikkei  fell 236 points to 29,451 and Shanghai Composite was trading flat at 3,523. Hang Seng index declined 341 points to 25,308.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended 12.23 points lower at 4,688, the Nasdaq fell 52.28 points to 15,921 and the Dow Jones lost 211 points to 35,931.