India : Markets may open flat to positive; mood is cautious globally on Fed’s decision

Indian benchmark indices after witnessing a gap up start, maintained their early gains throughout the session and ended the day on a promising note. At close, the NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index, Nifty, closed above the key 9,000 mark for the first time ever; while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index-Sensex added around five hundred points and closed above the psychological 29,400 mark. During the day wholesale price index-based inflation (WPI), was released, which jumped to a 39-month high of 6.55 per cent in February compared to 5.25 per cent in the previous month.The European markets ended Tuesday’s session with marginal losses. Traders seem to be in a cautious mood ahead of the Dutch election and Wednesday’s announcement from the Federal Reserve. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.01 per cent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.51 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.13 per cent.U.S stocks finished lower on Tuesday as slump in oil prices put pressure on energy shares, while market participants were also making guarded moves as the Federal Reserve’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting got underway. The Dow Jones finished lower by 44 points. The S&P 500 index closed down 8 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 19 points.Most Asian markets are trading lower on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.30 per cent and the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.46 per cent. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.12 per cent.At 8:10 am, SGX Nifty index was trading with gains of 21 points at 9122, indicating a flat to positive start for Indian equities.