Sensex, Nifty may open lower

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Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could slide 114 points at the opening bell. Overseas, Asian stocks are trading lower on Monday, with China slashing its benchmark lending rate for the first time in more than one-and-a-half years. China on Monday announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85% to 3.8% — the first such move since April 2020.

Wall Street finished lower on Friday, weighed down by Big Tech as investors worried about the Omicron coronavirus variant and digested the Federal Reserve’s decision to end its pandemic-era stimulus faster.

In Europe, the Netherlands went into lockdown from Sunday till at least Jan. 14 amid fears that its healthcare system “will become overburdened in January.” Elsewhere, Britain has also been seeing a surge in Covid infections.

Domestic markets

Back home, the benchmark indices ended with steep losses on Friday with the Nifty slipping below its crucial 17,000 mark. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 889.40 points or 1.54% at 57,011.74. The Nifty 50 index lost 263.20 points or 1.53% at 16,985.20.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,069.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,478.52 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 December, provisional data showed.