Sensex, Nifty may open flat

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Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could decline 15.25 points at the opening bell. Overseas, most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Wednesday on a boost from retailers including Walgreens and Nike, as investors shrugged off concerns on the spreading omicron variant.

Data on Wednesday showed the US trade deficit in goods mushroomed to the widest ever in November as imports of consumer goods shot to a record, as the coronavirus pandemic has limited spending by Americans on services.

Domestic markets

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor cuts on Wednesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 90.99 points or 0.16% to 57,806.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 19.65 points or 0.11% to 17,213.60. Both these indices rose 1.35% in the previous two sessions.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 975.23 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,006.93 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 December 2021, provisional data showed.