India : Markets may open flat amidst dull global cues and caution ahead of key domestic elections’ outcome

Indian benchmark indices after a gap-up start, soon capitalised on the momentum and scaled higher to register an intraday high in early trade, however, the indices failed to hold onto higher levels and retreated to intraday lows in the late morning trades. Thereafter, indices traded in a narrow range, but in the last hour some momentum was seen, and eventually, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index, Nifty convalesced by over half a per cent to settle above the crucial 8,800 support level; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive index, Sensex accumulated over one hundred and fifty points and closed above the psychological 28,450 mark.The majority of the European markets ended Friday’s session in the red, extending their losses from the previous session. Investors were also disappointed by the unexpected drop in U.K. retail sales and the drop in the euro area current account surplus. The DAX of Germany closed unchanged and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.65 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.30 per cent  U.S. market ended the last trading session of the week i.e. Friday at record levels, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average eking out gains to extend its record-setting streak to a seventh session. The Dow added 4.28 points to finish at 20,624.05, the S&P 500 index edged up 3.94 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 23.68 points.Asian shares are trading with mixed sentiments, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 37.55 points, on other hand Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite gained 0.53 and 0.29 per cent respectively.At 7:59 am, SGX Nifty Index gained 10 points to 8,834, indicating a flat start for Indian equities. Ambuja Cements, KSB Pumps and Varun Beverages will report quarterly results later during the day.