Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Higher At Open

Indian shares may open a tad higher on Wednesday, though volatility cannot be ruled out ahead of key U.S. GDP and inflation readings that could shed light on the possible timing of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty eked out modest gains in cautious trade on Tuesday while the rupee ended little changed at 82.89 against the dollar.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning ahead of Chinese manufacturing data due later this week. The dollar held steady while gold edged higher on waning risk appetite.

Oil extended overnight gains, with U.S. stockpile data, OPEC+ supply policy and disruptions in the Red Sea route in focus.

U.S. President Joe Biden said, “My national security advisor tells me that we’re close — close but not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we will have a cease-fire.”

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending mixed overnight as weak economic data stirred expectations of an earlier-than-anticipated rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell by the most in nearly four years in January while there was an unexpected deterioration. consumer confidence in February, separate data revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent while the Dow eased 0.3 percent.

European stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday amid shaky global sentiment and after the release of mixed regional data.

The pan European STOXX 600 inched up 0.2 percent. The German DAX climbed 0.8 percent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.