Sensex, Nifty may open flat with a negative bias

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 mostly trading higher on Tuesday as Japanese stocks led gains regionally, with investors reacting to the release of Chinese factory activity data for November. China’s factory activity unexpectedly picked up in November, growing for the first time in three months as raw material prices fell and power rationing abated. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) was at 50.1 in November, up from 49.2 in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Investors in the region also continued to track any developments surrounding the omicron variant, which the World Health Organization said is likely to spread further and poses a “very high” global risk.

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday, regaining some of the ground they lost in Friday’s sell-off as investors were hopeful that the Omicron coronavirus variant would not lead to lockdowns after reassurance from U.S. President Joe Biden.

If people are vaccinated and wear their masks, there’s no need for lockdowns, Biden said on Monday. Biden also said there would be no new travel restrictions.

Domestic markets

Back home, domestic equity indices ended a volatile trading session with small gains on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 153.43 points or 0.27% to 57,260.58. The Nifty 50 index added 27.50 points or 0.16% to 17,053.95.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,332.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,611.41 crore in the Indian equity market on 29 November, provisional data showed.