Global mkts mixed; Nifty's volatility to continue?

In US, the markets closed mixed on Wednesday. The Dow notched another record close, as investors bought into optimism that the Federal Reserve would continue its stimulus longer than thought, ahead of economic reports this week on the economy and the labour market.

Number of planned layoffs in the US firms rose 13.5 percent in October on the back of cuts in the pharmaceutical and financial sectors. According to a report by consultants challenger, Gray and Christmas, employers announced 45,730 layoffs last month; significantly higher compared to the previous month's number. In Europe, equities closed higher as investors reacted to earnings news and awaited monetary policy decisions from central banks in the UK and Europe. The Indian markets saw a continuation of profit booking on Wednesday. The Sensex closed at 20894.94, down by 79.85 points, while the Nifty fell 38 points to close at 6215.15. Experts see volatile sessions on the bourses going forward. A correction is also expected due to lack of trigger. On the earnings front, Tech Mahindra and SpiceJet will announce their earnings today. In Asia, foreign investors were selling local shares for a third straight day on Wednesday. Up until last week, foreigners were net buyers for 44th consecutive session. In the currency space, the Euro traded near one-week highs against the dollar and yen early in Asian trade as investors quickly switched gears after upbeat German data dampened the chances of any imminent interest rate cut from the European Central Bank. In commodities, Nymex futures edge up above USD 95/bbl for a second session today after a bigger than forecast drop in gasoline inventories calmed concerns over rising supplies in the world's top oil consumer. Brent traded sub USD 105/bbl. From precious metals space, gold prices held onto gains as investors bet the US Federal Reserve would keep its stimulus measures for longer and also holdings in the biggest gold backed exchange-traded fund rose for the first time in two weeks