Sensex, Nifty Seen Slightly Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open flat to slightly lower on Monday following cautious comments from a Federal Reserve official on the U.S. interest rate outlook.

A rebound in the dollar index and Treasury yields may prompt some profit taking after key benchmark indexes marched to record highs last week on the back of FII flows.

Traders may also keep a close eye on oil price movements after major shipping lines suspended transit through the Red Sea.

Asian markets were mostly lower this morning as investors awaited cues from the Bank of Japan's policy meeting and a key reading on U.S. inflation.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday but logged seventh week of gains after a deluge of central bank meetings and economic data releases.

Investors tempered dovish Fed bets after New York Fed President John Williams pushed back against market bets of multiple rate cuts next year, reiterating the U.S. central bank remains focused on bringing inflation down to its 2 percent target.

Economic data signaled an uptick in U.S. business activity in December and mixed fortunes for the manufacturing sector.

The Dow edged up 0.2 percent to touch another new record closing high and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.4 percent to hit a nearly two-year closing high while the S&P 500 ended flat with a negative bias.

European stocks also ended mixed on Friday after cautious ECB and BoE comments and weak euro area service sector data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended marginally higher. The German DAX finished marginally lower and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost about 1 percent while France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent.