Indian shares look set to open on a flat note Wednesday, with Covid-19 worries as well as the latest macroeconomic readings likely to keep sentiment cautious at open.
The WHO chief told reporters that 77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron and the variant of coronavirus was spreading at an unprecedented rate.
India’s wholesale price inflation climbed unexpectedly to 14.23 percent in November from 12.54 percent in October while economists had forecast 11.9 percent inflation, official data showed.
Another report showed that India’s merchandise trade deficit more than doubled in November compared with the same month a year earlier as imports grew much faster than exports.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty fluctuated before closing down about 0.3 percent each on Tuesday while the rupee declined by 10 paise to close at 75.88 against the dollar.
Asian markets traded mixed, ten-year yields nudged up and the dollar held its recent gains, as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce when it would stop buying assets and start raising interest rates.
China reported mixed data, with industrial output growing faster than expected in November, while retail sales slowed amid new Covid-19 outbreaks in the country.
U.S.-China tensions also remained on investors’ radar, with reports suggesting that the Biden administration is considering imposing tougher sanctions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s largest chipmaker.
U.S. stocks ended lower overnight as the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting got underway and data showed producer prices increased by more than expected in November.
The Dow dipped 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 declined 0.8 percent.
European stocks fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday after the World Health Organization warned the new variant is spreading faster than previous strains.
The German DAX tumbled 1.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index gave up 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent.
Market Analysis
Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening On Flat Note
2021-12-15 02:46:49
