Indian Markets Closed On Eve Of Eid-ul-Fitr

Indian stock markets remain closed today for Ramzan Eid.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty fell for a second straight session on Monday but ended off their day’s lows, tracking gains in U.S. stock futures and a retreat in oil prices. The rupee, however, ended on a flat note amid continuous foreign fund outflows.

Asian stocks were seeing modest gains in cautious trade this morning as investors await the outcome of a slew of central bank meetings for directional cues.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to raise the official cash rate for the first time since 2010 later today.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a 50-basis point rate hike on Wednesday, the first such increase in about 20 years.

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates to their highest level since 2009 on Thursday.

The Japanese yen wallowed near historical lows against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc and oil held near the $105 mark, while gold struggled for direction.

U.S. stocks recovered from an early slide to end on a firm note overnight, shrugging off weak manufacturing data and concerns over interest rates as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield breached 3 percent for the first time in more than three years.

The Dow edged up 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped as much as 1.6 percent.

European stocks declined on Monday as investors digested disappointing factory activity data from China, Europe and the United States.

The pan European Stoxx 600 tumbled 1.5 percent. The German DAX fell 1.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 index shed 1.7 percent while the U.K. markets were closed for a bank holiday.