Global & local cues that will impact Nifty today

The US markets finished modestly lower across the board with the Dow and S&P 500 snapping a three-day winning streak, weighed by a weaker-than-expected manufacturing report, even as there are new details of a counter-offer from house republicans to avert the fiscal cliff. The CBOE VIX closed above 16. The European markets closed off their best levels following weak manufacturing data from US, however news that Spain had formally requested an EU bailout for its banks helped limit losses. Spain formally requested a bailout for its struggling banks to be disbursed on December 12. Asian markets are trading weak. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.30% or 5.83 points at 1,953.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.36% or 78.49 points at 21,689.36. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.12% or 11.28 points at 9,446.90. Singapore's Straits Times shed 0.29% or 8.96 points at 3,056.78. South Korea's Seoul Composite fell 0.46% or 8.99 points at 1,931.03. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was down 0.77% or 58.50 points at 7,541.41. Back home, the Nifty closed 9 points lower to 5,870.