Markets may open lower tracking weak Asian peers after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's statement that US economy was growing very slowly. The Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange slipped 39 points, at 5521.
US Markets ended on a subdued note after Ben Bernanke said that the US economy would gain traction only in the second half of the year. Bernanke did not give any hint on a possibility of quantitative easing three (QE3) after a spate of weak cues from the US last week. Analysts expect sell-off in commodities and equities in absence of QE3.
Across Asia markets drifted lower, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.4% due to domestic growth concerns and the strengthening Yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite were down 0.9% and 0.6% each due losses in the banking shares.
Indian markets have shrugged off weak cues across the global and ended in the positive for the past two sessions. Market analysts said that there is a buildup of long positions and short covering in the market.
Ashish Chaturmohta, Vice President - Derivatives and Technical Analyst said “that immediate resistance for Nifty was seen at 5620 and close above this level would lead to short covering.” Chaturmohta added, “Nifty holds psychological support at 5500 levels, below which market may drag towards 5420-5390 levels.”