Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Lower Ahead Of Holiday Break

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a cautious note Thursday as investors await key U.S. inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary for signals on the rate path.

A market holiday on March 29 on account of Good Friday may also keep investors on the sidelines.

Banks and non-banking financial companies could be in focus today after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) modified the norms for their investment in alternative investment funds (AIF).

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 0.7 percent and half a percent, respectively on Wednesday despite mixed cues from global markets.

Asian markets traded mostly higher this morning, though Japan's Nikkei index fell over 1 percent amid the threat of intervention from the Bank of Japan in currency markets.

The dollar traded higher against a basket of currencies after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said there is no rush to lower interest rates.

Gold ticked lower in Asian trading while oil prices recovered some ground after two consecutive sessions of losses.

U.S. stocks fluctuated overnight before closing mostly higher after a late-day surge as Treasury yields slipped on rate-cut optimism.

The Dow rallied 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent to snap three-day losing streaks while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up half a percent.

European stocks hit new record highs on Wednesday as Sweden's Riksbank laid the groundwork for a rate cut as soon as May and data showed confidence in the euro zone economy ticked up in March.

The pan European STOXX 600 inched up 0.1 percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.