Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Up On Fed Pause Bets

Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Monday after the S&P 500 inched further into bull-market territory on Friday on bets the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle.

Closer home, reports on retail inflation, wholesale prices, trade balance and industrial output may sway sentiment as the week progresses. Latest news on progress of the monsoon may also sway markets.

The Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are on the same page when it comes to the growth outlook for the current fiscal at 6.5 percent, Chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Saturday. Moody’s sees India’s GDP expanding 6-6.3 percent in Q1FY24.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning while U.S. stock futures edged up ahead of interest rate decisions this week from the United States, Europe, China and Japan.

Gold traded lower, the dollar was little changed against the yen and Treasury yields held steady after rising on Friday following disappointing employment data from China, while oil held losses on fuel demand concerns.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending slightly higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to key inflation data and the Fed’s latest policy announcement.

Weekly jobless claims surged to the highest level in more than 1-1/2 years, bolstering bets for the Federal Reserve to hold pat on interest rates.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both inched up around 0.1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended slightly lower on Friday as investors awaited cues from the Fed and ECB meetings.

The pan-European STOXX 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 shed half a percent.