Markets may see flat-to-negative opening

Indian equities are likely to open flat on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. SGX Nifty is trading at 5,868 (07.22 am), 11 points lower than Thursday's closeof 5,879.

Asian stocks fell, snapping their longest-winning streak in more than three years, and the South Korean won weakened as a report showed big Japanese manufacturers became the most pessimistic since March 2010. Oil advanced in New York. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 fell 44.31 points, or 0.45%, to trade at 9,698.73.

Oil prices eased Thursday as the market fretted about the US fiscal cliff crisis that threatens to throw the world's biggest crude oil consumer back into recession. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, shed 88 cents from Wednesday to settle at USD 85.89 a barrel. In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for January dropped USD 1.59 to close at USD 107.91.

US stocks closed lower on Thursday under a cloud of fiscal cliff concerns that overshadowed a batch of somewhat positive economic data on jobs, retail sales and inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 74.73 points, or 0.56%, at 13,170.72 in closing trade.

European stocks fell on Thursday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank's plan to buy USD 45 billion a month of Treasuries will fail to offset the effects of the fiscal cliff. UK's benchmark index FTSE 100 declined 16.24 points, or 0.27%, to end at 5,929.61.

In the spot market, the Dollar Index increased 0.02% to 79.94 (20:41 ET).

World commodity prices fell on Thursday with the decrease in Reuters Jefferies CRB Index by 0.85%.