Sensex, Nifty may see negative opening

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 25 points at the opening bell. Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Friday in thin year-end trading, with markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand closed for holidays while those in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong are set to close early.

China’s factory activity saw an acceleration in growth during December, with the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) coming in at 50.3 for that month from November’s reading of 50.1, according to data released Friday by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, retreating late in thin holiday volume from record highs set early in the session on strong U.S. data including a drop in weekly claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

On the data front, jobless claims last week came in lower than expected, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial claims totaled 198,000 for the week ended December 25.

Domestic markets

Back home, the key equity indices ended near the flat line with some negative bias on Thursday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 12.17 points or 0.02% to 57,794.32. The Nifty 50 index lost 9.65 points or 0.06% to 17,203.95.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 986.32 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 577.74 crore in the Indian equity market on 30 December, provisional data showed.