Nifty likely to open flat led by mixed global cues

Moneycontrol BureauThe Indian market is likely to open flat today with the SGX Nifty, an indicator of pre-market opening, up around 8 points to 8353 at 7:50 hrs led by mixed by global cues. The market closed volatile session on a lower note by snapping three-day rally on Tuesday. Technology, oil & gas and select banking & financial stocks saw profit booking.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 159.54 points to 27425.73 and the 50-share NSE Nifty closed tad below 8300, down 23.60 points to 8299.40 while the broader markets were flat.

Among global markets, stocks in the US closed modestly lower, after a near 300-point rally on the Dow evaporated amid falling commodity prices and worries that Germany would throw cold water on the European Central Bank taking additional steps to bolster the region's economy.

In Europe, equities closed sharply higher, with a surge in retail stocks helping in boosting investor sentiment. Rate of inflation in the UK fell to 0.5 percent in December year-on-year, according to new data on Tuesday morning. This was its lowest level in 14 years.The Asian stock markets are trading mixed this morning due to global growth concerns. Nikkei is lower as yen is still below 118. 

Meanwhile, World Bank lowers its global growth forecast for 2015 and 2016.The global development leader predicted the global economy would grow 3 percent this year, lower than the 3.4 percent forecast it made in June, with disappointing economic prospects in the euro zone, Japan and some major emerging economies likely to offset the benefit of lower oil prices.In the currency space, the dollar nears one-month low against the yen as US yields continued to shrink, but it scaled a nine-year peak on the euro as bolder stimulus from the European Central Bank seemed imminent.

In commodities, crude edges above USD 46 per barrel, helped by a flurry of short-covering as the prices remain six-year lows

From precious metals space, gold hits a 12-week high as investors seek refuge from turbulence in stock and currency markets.Back home, in a significant departure from its notification issued in 2014, the Reserve Bank of India proposed relaxation to the rules on call and put options. The central bank asked the government for downside protection to foreign investors upon their exit- writes to the finance ministry after Tata Sons moves the central bank in the DoCoMo matter.Azim Premji stands his ground and said Wipro Enterprises will not be listed. Minority shareholders also back Premji's move to take the consumer business private.TCS rubbishes reports of large-scale layoffs. The company   said pink slips in this fiscal amount to just 0.8 percent of their total workforce.Despite lower-than-expected inflation and Raghuram Rajan's promise to cut rates outside the policy, 90 percent of economists don't expect a rate cut in February.And in key macro data to watch, the wholesale price index (WPI) data for December will be released today. A CNBC-TV18 poll sees December WPI at 0.3 percent with core inflation likely to continue easing off.