Indian stock markets are likely to open on a flat note amid mixed global cues. The US stocks closed the day mixedly, with Dow Jones ending in green even as Nasdaq and S&P-500 closed in the negative.

Experts said the market will move in a narrow range ahead of the US Federal minutes, slated later today.

The recent pullback move in the Nifty and the Bank Nifty index has resisted around their 50 per cent retracement levels, and the index has not been able to surpass the hurdles. On the other hand, the global equity markets, too, have been correcting, and the US Bond yields and the Dollar Index have rallied higher, post the recent dip, which are all negative factors for equity markets, said Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com.

FIIs step up selling

FIIs are also riding on their short positions in the index futures and have a majority of the positions on the short side, he added.

However, most Asian stocks are trading marginally lower except Japan's Nikkei, which eked out small gains in an early deal on Wednesday.

Analysts expect market to remain under pressure as foreign portfolio investors stepped up their selling. FIIs on Tuesday sold shares worth ₹4,612.67 crore.

Global factors

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said: "Indian Markets are caught in the web of global turmoil. While Domestic investors are fighting hard to come out of this web, they have been unable to do so amid high volatility with Nifty falling below its key psychological levels of 17,000. Markets may remain under pressure in the near term, as global factors continue to outweigh. Further, macro data like CPI, IIP and WPI, along with US Fed meeting minutes to be released over the next few days would be closely tracked by investors for further cues on market direction."

IT stocks were under tremendous pressure, with tech stocks feeling the heat of import limits imposed by the US on semiconductor and chip-making equipment, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

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