Sensex, Nifty Seen Flat To Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a muted note Wednesday as investors weigh trade uncertainties against Ukraine's acceptance of a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump reversed an earlier plan to double tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum to 50 percent after Ontario's premier said he had agreed to suspend the Canadian province's 25 percent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

Additionally, the Trump administration has lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine following talks in Saudi Arabia. Kyiv has signaled it is open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow's agreement.

Traders also await cues from India's retail inflation data for February and industrial production figures for January due later in the day.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and recouped early losses to end narrowly mixed on Tuesday while the rupee settled 10 paise higher at 87.21 against the dollar.

FIIs offloaded shares worth Rs 2,823.76 crore on a net basis Tuesday, while DIIs net bought shares to the extent of Rs 2,001.79 crore, as per provisional data.

Asian markets were mixed this morning while Treasuries and the dollar index edged up ahead of U.S. CPI data due later in the day that might give additional clues on the direction of interest rates.

Gold was little changed after rallying 1 percent on Tuesday, boosted by a weaker dollar and concerns over an economic slowdown from tariff wars.

Oil prices were up nearly 1 percent amid expectations of some supply disruptions in Russia after Ukraine claimed it had attacked a major oil refinery in Moscow.

Investors also await the OPEC's monthly report for more insights into the cartel's plans for production.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight after a highly volatile session, adding to the biggest selloff in months, as tariff-related worries overshadowed signs of resilience in the labor market and news of progress toward a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

In late hours, President Trump said he doesn't see a U.S. economic recession and the country is going to boom.

The Dow lost 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.8 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended lower on Tuesday amid fears about U.S. trade policies and uncertainties related to Germany's fiscal stimulus package.

The pan European STOXX 600 declined 1.7 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both fell around 1.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.2 percent.