Sensex, Nifty Set For Flat Start After Inflation Data

Indian shares are seen opening on a cautious note Tuesday amid inflation concerns and muted global cues.

India’s consumer price inflation rose 6.30 percent year-on-year in May after a 4.23 percent increase in April, official data showed. Economists had forecast inflation of 5.30 percent.

Another report showed that India’s wholesale price inflation hit a record high of 12.94 percent in May, driven by higher fuel prices. That follows a 10.49 percent rise in April while economists had expected a 13.07 percent rise.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended a choppy session marginally higher on Monday, while the rupee fell by 22 paise to close at 73.29 against the U.S. dollar, extending losses for the fifth straight session.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning and the dollar hovered below a one-month high against its peers, while Bitcoin briefly climbed above $41,000 after billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones said he liked the digital currency. Crude oil edged back above $71 a barrel as nuclear talks dragged on.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight, as investors refrained from making big bets amid a lack of major catalysts and ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow dipped 0.3 percent, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7 percent to reach new record closing highs.

European stocks closed broadly higher on Monday, even as the U.K. delayed plans to lift coronavirus lockdown restrictions by a month due to a surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent while France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both rose about 0.2 percent.

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