Domestic stocks are likely to open on a positive note on Thursday ahead of the expiry of December series F&O contracts. Most Asian markets were listless amid thin trading ahead of the New Year, even as US stocks managed to close at a fresh record high overnight. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS

SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 36.5 points, or 0.21 per cent, higher at 17,306, signalling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.

• Tech View: The Nifty50 on Wednesday snapped a two-day winning streak and formed a Doji candle on the daily chart, suggesting indecisiveness among traders. Analysts see support for the index at 17,100 while they see resistance at 17,300 level.

• India VIX: The fear gauge declined over a per cent to 16.24 level on Wednesday over its close at 16.48 level on Tuesday.

Asian shares mostly higher
Asian shares opened mostly higher with cautious trade following a mixed close on Wall Street and ahead of year-end holidays. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.29 per cent.

• Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.08%
• South Korea's Kospi added 0.07%
• Australia's ASX 200 declined 0.11%
• China's Shanghai jumped 0.48%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.45%

Dow, S&P close at record highs
The Dow and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Wednesday on a boost from retailers including Walgreens and Nike, as investors shrugged off concerns on the spreading Omicron variant.

• Dow Jones added 0.25% at 36,488.63
• S&P 500 gained 0.14% to 4,793.06
• Nasdaq dropped 0.10% to 15,766.22

Dollar, yen soft in thin trading
The dollar and yen were at the low end of their recent ranges in thin holiday trading on Thursday, having fallen overnight as investors favoured riskier currencies along with equities.

• Dollar Index languished at 95.862
• Euro was holding at $1.1352
• Pound was inched up to $1.3500
• Yen was steady at 114.95 per dollar
• Yuan exchanged hands at 6.3703 against the greenback

FPIs sell shares worth Rs 975 crore
Net-net, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 975.23 crore, data available with NSE suggested. DIIs turned net sellers to the tune of Rs 1006.93 crore, data suggests.

MONEY MARKETS
Rupee: The rupee snapped its nine-day winning streak to settle just one paisa lower at 74.71 against the US dollar on Wednesday, as muted domestic equities and a strong greenback overseas weighed on the market sentiment.

10-year bonds: India 10-year bond eased 0.26 per cent to 6.46 after trading in 6.46 - 6.48 range on Wednesday.

Call rates: The overnight call money rate weighted average stood at 3.25 per cent on Wednesday, according to RBI data. It moved in a range of 2.00-3.75 per cent.