Sensex, Nifty To Open Lower Ahead Of Fed Decision

Indian shares are seen opening a tad lower on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later in the day.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, with traders likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement, updated economic forecasts and commentary around the path of inflation and future of monetary policy for direction.

Indian markets were closed on Tuesday for Ganesh Chaturthi. Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent respectively on Monday due to weak global cues and profit taking after recent gains.

Asian markets were subdued this morning as elevated oil prices raised inflation concerns.

The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies and gold was unhanged while Brent crude future traded firm above $94 per barrel.

U.S. stocks closed lower overnight as investors looked for any change in communication from the Federal Reserve. Also, a measure of U.S. housing starts hit a three-year low in a worrying sign for the economy.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent to its lowest closing level in almost a month while the Dow eased 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Tuesday ahead of key central bank meetings.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged down marginally. The German DAX dropped 0.4 percent, while France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both ended marginally higher.