Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open on a sluggish note Thursday amid continued selling by foreign portfolio investors and anxiety ahead of the upcoming Budget.

Analysts say that expected policy changes under U.S. President Trump, including higher tariffs and a shift towards fossil fuels, could hinder solar demand growth and impact Indian exporters.

Meanwhile, around 60 companies are set to announce their Q3 earnings today. Prominent among them include Adani Green Energy, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, United Spirits, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and UltraTech Cement.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever's third-quarter profit rose 18.9 percent year-on-year, beating analysts' estimates. BPCL's Q3 profit came in short of expectations due to lower margins.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively on Wednesday, with IT stocks and HDFC Bank leading the surge.

Asian stocks traded mixed this morning, with China's Shanghai Composite rising more than 1 percent after multiple Chinese government departments rolled out medium- and long-term investment plan with clear measures to boost capital market confidence.

The dollar steadied against its major peers, while gold and oil prices were marginally lower ahead of a spate of central bank decisions due over the next week.

The yen was little changed amid expectations the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Friday.

U.S. stocks rose overnight, pushing Wall Street close to record territory, buoyed by Netflix's robust quarterly results, Fed rate-cut optimism and President Trump's new initiative on artificial intelligence.

The Dow edged up by 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.3 percent.

European stocks rose broadly on Wednesday as expectations for Fed and ECB rate cuts offset concerns about Trump's tariff threats.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent to close at a near four-month high. The German DAX climbed 1 percent to close at a record high as Adidas reported strong holiday-quarter results.

France's CAC 40 surged 0.9 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.