At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading higher by 0.45 per cent on Singapore Stock Exchange.The domestic stock markets are likely to open firm, after an absolutely flat closing on Wednesday, going by trends from the global front.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive start for the index in India, with a gain of 50 points.

At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading at 13,629, higher by 50 points or 0.45 per cent on the Singapore Stock Exchange.Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as hopes of effective coronavirus vaccines and the growing prospect of more U.S.

fiscal stimulus cheered investors ahead of the Christmas holiday season.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan added 0.6 per cent after two straight days of losses.Australian and New Zealand shares jumped over 1 per cent each, while South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei were each up about 0.3 per cent.Wall Street showed signs of a Santa rally on December 15, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high, helped by optimism about a potential government stimulus to protect the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.13 per cent to end at 30,199.31 points, while the S-P 500 gained 1.29 per cent to 3,694.62.The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.25 per cent to end at 12,595.06, exceeding its previous record high close on December 8.Markets will now look to the U.S.

Federal Reserve for new projections on whether the economy will suffer a double-dip recession or is on the cusp of a vaccine-inspired boom.The central bank is to release a statement later in the day, with analysts expecting some guidance on when and how the Fed might change its bond purchases.Meanwhile, oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors focused on the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, looking past tightening lockdowns in Europe and forecasts for a slower-than-expected recovery in fuel demand.The S-P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended on a flat note on Monday as gains in HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were offset with losses in ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.

The Sensex ended 10 points higher at 46,263 and Nifty 50 index advanced 10 points to settle at 13,568.