Sensex, Nifty To Open On Flat Note Amid Inflation, Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open largely unhanged on Monday as inflation and interest-rate concerns persist.

The week ahead could be extremely volatile and choppy after the Election Commission of India announced the dates for election for 543 Lok Sabha seats.

Capital markets regulator SEBI has approved the launch of the beta version of the T+0 settlement on an optional basis from March 28.

The new settlement would be for a limited set of 25 scrips, and with a limited set of brokers.

Meanwhile, India's current world-beating economic growth rate on the back of an investment boom resembles that of 2003-07 when growth averaged more than 8 percent, economists at Morgan Stanley said in a report.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning as investors continued to dial back their expectations for Fed rate cuts in 2024.

A slightly weaker yen helped lift Japan's Nikkei average up over 2 percent.

Mainland China and Hong Kong markets clung to modest gains ahead of the release of key economic indicators, including reports on business investment, retail sales, industrial production and unemployment.

Data showed new bank loans dipped more than expected in February, spurring some optimism over possible stimulus measures.

The dollar held steady ahead of a busy week dominated by central bank meetings in Japan, Australia, U.K. and the United States.

Gold struggled for momentum while oil steadied after its biggest weekly advance in a month.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday while bond yields ticked higher as investors looked ahead to cues from upcoming FOMC meeting.

On the data front, manufacturing output rebounded in February while consumer sentiment and inflation expectations held steady in March, separate reports revealed.

The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index sank to -20.9 in March 2024 from -2.4 in February.

The tech=heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 0.7 percent to extend losses for the third day running while the Dow dropped half a percent.

European stocks closed lower on Friday amid inflation and interest-rate concerns. The pan European STOXX 600 declined 0.3 percent.

The German DAX finished marginally lower and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent while France's CAC 40 ended with a positive bias.