Sensex, Nifty To See Muted Start As Traders Pare Rate Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may struggle for direction at open on Friday, tracking mixed cues from global markets as bond yields rose on doubts about how soon the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates.

Tensions in the Middle East and caution ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day may also keep underlying sentiment cautious.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.7 percent each on Thursday following two consecutive sessions of declines. The rupee gained 7 paise to close at 83.23 against the dollar.

Asian stocks traded narrowly mixed this morning as traders pared rate cut bets. Treasuries were unchanged after declines across the curve.

The dollar was on track for its strongest week since July, while oil steadied after declining Thursday on data showing a build in gasoline inventories.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower overnight while the 10-year Treasury yield edged closer to 4 percent as strong labor market data raised fresh uncertainty about the pace of potential rate cuts this year.

The private sector added more jobs than anticipated in December while weekly jobless claims fell more than expected to hit a two-week low, separate reports showed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.3 percent while the Dow finished marginally higher.

European stocks ended a choppy session higher on Thursday after the release of euro area private sector data and inflation readings from Germany and France.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.7 percent after falling for two straight days. The German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all rose around half a percent.