Nifty may open Flat to Negative

Nifty may open Lower due to  Asian shares mixed, with market cautious after Fed move.
Metal and fertilizer stocks are expected to remain in focus.

Nikkei                    22510259.43        -76.26
Straits Times          2740.73                 -28.46
Hang Seng             19963.59              -458.56
KOSPI                  1595.43                -25.76


SGX Nifty            4830                    -54.00


"The timing is not good. Although this is a sign of the U.S. economic recovery, the Fed's hiking of the discount rate can give a short-term shock to the market that has been under downward pressure (from early this year) due to concerns over China's tightening moves," said Bae Sung-young at Hyundai Securities. "The Fed's move will certainly revive (concerns in equity markets) that the global tightening moves may come earlier than expected."

Late Thursday, the Fed raised the rate it charges banks for emergency loans by a quarter percentage point to 0.75%, a move that was signaled for some time.

However, "the timing has caught the market off guard," said Brown Brothers Harriman in a report. "(The) market expected that the Fed would make such an announcement at an FOMC meeting. The decision to go between meetings is important."

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3%, South Korea's Kospi was flat and New Zealand's NZX-50 was down 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 63 points in screen trade.

The euro and other risk sensitive currencies were trading lower on the Fed move. The single currency fell as low as $1.3465 against the U.S. dollar, its lowest level since May 18, 2009.

Shares in Tokyo were moving in and out of positive territory, with a weaker yen supporting exporters. Investors are still digesting the impact of the Fed's discount rate hike, said Shinichiro Matsushita, market analyst at Daiwa Securities. "The weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters and the Nikkei itself, but some investors are worried that the Fed's discount rate hike may lead to tighter financial conditions for businesses," he said.

Canon rose 1.3%, Sony was up 1.3% and Sharp advanced 1.1%. Nissan Motor was up 0.9% but Toyota continued to struggle on persisting concerns about the fallout from its string of recent recalls. The stock was up 0.1%.

The Australian market was trading slightly up, but bank stocks were weighing.

National Australia Bank fell 2.4% after its first quarter profit of A$1.1 billion came in below consensus estimates. Other banks were down as much as 0.8%. Among resources plays, Rio Tinto was down 0.3%, but BHP Billiton tacked on 0.8%.

Technology companies were weighing on the Korean market as early trade was fairly skittish. Samsung Electronics fell 0.2% and Hynix lost 0.9%.

Automakers were up, with Hyundai Motor 1.3% higher and Kia Motors up 0.5%; brokerages were down with Daewoo Securities off 0.5%.

Shares in New Zealand were under pressure, with stocks leveraged to the economic cycle taking a hit. Chemicals maker Nuplex fell 1.8%, rural services company PGG Wrightson was down 1.7% at NZ$0.62, but jewelry retailer Michael Hill rose 2.9% after a strong first half result on Thursday. Sky Television, which posted a 19.1% rise in first half net profit, was flat.