Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Higher At Open

Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Monday after the latest U.S. jobs report suggested the economy is expanding but not fast enough to encourage the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy.

Falling COVID-19 infections in the country and accelerated pace of vaccinations may also offer some support, with several states and Union Territories easing the lockdown restrictions which they first started imposing in mid-April.

On the economic front, gross GST (Goods and Services Tax) collections in May (for sales in April) topped Rs 1 lakh crore for the eighth month in a row, despite most states imposing strict restrictions to break the chain of transmission of the infection.

Asian markets traded mostly higher this morning, though overall gains remained muted as investors looked ahead to the U.S. consumer-price inflation due this week for more clues.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday endorsed a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 percent to make multinational companies pay more tax and impose levies on U.S. tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc.

Gold held steady as bond yields retreated and the dollar dropped from a three-week high against its rivals after the release of U.S. jobs data.

Oil extended gains to hit multi-year highs, while Bitcoin traded around $36,000 as China banned several influential social media accounts focused on crypto-related content over the weekend.

U.S. stocks ended firmly in positive territory on Friday after the Labor Department report showed job growth in the U.S. reaccelerated in May but still fell short of economist estimates, helping ease inflation and tapering jitters.

Non-farm payroll employment jumped by 559,000 jobs in May after climbing by an upwardly revised 278,000 jobs in April. Economists had expected employment to surge by 650,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in May from 6.1 percent in April, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to dip to 5.9 percent.

The Dow rose half a percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rallied 1.5 percent.

European stocks eked out modest gains on Friday amid continued optimism about global economic recovery.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.4 percent. The German DAX also rose about 0.4 percent while France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both edged up around 0.1 percent.