Markets Trade Flat; Investors Eye Corporate Results

Markets opened the day marginally lower, despite strong global cues, as investor sentiments were dampened by the inflation data released on Monday.

Retail inflation rate in December jumped to an over five-year high of 7.35 per cent in December. As such, the CPI inflation has surpassed the RBI's comfort level, thus strongly limiting the extent to which the central bank can ease interest rates further.

The Sensex was trading with losses of 55 points, while the Nifty was lower by 8 points in trade. Shares In IndusInd Bank was trading marginally higher, ahead of its corporate results. Infosys, which had a spectacular rally on Monday, shed some gains in trade.

Wipro was marginally higher, ahead of its numbers to be declared later today.

On the global front, Wall Street surged to record highs on Monday, buoyed by an easing of Middle East tensions and the Phase 1 US-China trade agreement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent, its highest close ever. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.04 per cent to a record high.

Meanwhile, Asian share markets surged on Tuesday with the MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan opened at an all-time high.