The key domestic benchmarks are likely to open on a flat note today tracking a mostly negative trend in fellow Asian peers and slim gains at Wall Street overnight. China’s Shanghai Composite fell as weak industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales data for October signaled a deepening slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy, even amidst speculation that the central bank may inject cash into smaller banks. Hang Seng was trading with slim gains while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell amid profit booking from a seven-year high. Back home, markets maybe in consolidation mode after touching record highs earlier this week. Caution may persist ahead of the WPI data today which may show a further retreat in wholesale inflation in October after hitting a five-year low of 2.38 per cent in September. The stocks of SBI, ONGC, BHEL and Tata Motors will be in focus as they report September quarter earnings.
