India : Markets may open flat to negative in an atmosphere of global markets suffering from holiday blues

Snapping a seven day  losing streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended the session slightly in the green on Friday as traders opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks after seven days of continuos hammering. Indian equity benchmarks made a weak start and traded subdued in early deals, tracking sluggish global cues. Nevertheless, domestic gauges pared all of their initial losses and entered into green terrain. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 61.10 points or 0.24 per cent to 26040.70, while the CNX Nifty was up by 6.65 points or 0.08 per cent to 7985.75.European markets closed in the mix on Friday. The CAC 40 gained 0.10 per cent and the FTSE 100 rose 0.06 per cent. The DAX lost 0.05 per cent.The U.S. equities closed mostly flat on Friday ahead of the Christmas holiday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average failed again to reach the psychologically important level of 20,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.93 points to 19,933.81, with United Health Group leading the advancers and Microsoft being the biggest loser. The S&P 500 closed 2.83 points higher at 2,263.79, with health care leading eight sectors that rose higher and consumer discretionary being the top decliner. The Nasdaq Composite rose 15.27 points to end at 5,462.69.Asian shares have kicked off the last trading week of 2016 on a negative note. Japanese markets have declined as the yen gained for the fourth straight session. Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 0.80 per cent, followed by Hang Seng and Nikkei trading lower by 0.28 per cent and 0.09 per cent respectively.  At 7:55 am, SGX Nifty index has plunged 0.44 per cent to 7,961, indicating a negative start for the Indian equity markets.