Sensex, Nifty Seen Flat To Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening flat to slightly lower on Thursday, tracking a weak trend in global markets as fears over an economic slowdown escalated. Trading may turn later volatile later in the day ahead of the monthly expiry of derivative contracts.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended modestly lower on Wednesday to snap a four-day winning streak, while the rupee touched record lows for a second straight session despite central bank intervention.

Asian markets traded mostly lower this morning, though Chinese and Hong Kong stocks edged higher after China's headline manufacturing and services PMIs for June showed improved performance compared to May.

Th dollar held gains on inflation fears while gold firmed up on lower Treasury yields. Oil held steady near $110 a barrel after declining about 2 percent on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing mixed overnight and bond yields tumbled as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his hawkish stance on fighting inflation and cautioned there's no guarantee the Fed can engineer a "soft landing."

Investors also digested data showing that U.S. GDP shrank at an annual pace of 1.6 percent in the first quarter, slightly more than earlier estimates.

The Dow edged up 0.3 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower.

European stocks fell on Wednesday on recession worries as ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey stuck to their hawkish stance.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.7 percent. The German DAX plunged 1.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index shed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent.