Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Flat With Fed Announcement In Spotlight

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open flat to slightly lower on Wednesday as investors await key economic events, including the interim union budget and interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of England for direction.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged later today, but the accompanying statement could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

Optimism about a March rate cut has faded recently, with many economists now suggesting the Fed will wait until May to begin lowering rates.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India's FY25 and FY26 GDP growth forecasts and expressed optimism that the likelihood of a hard landing for the global economy has receded.

Tech stocks could in in focus today as Alphabet reported weaker-than-expected holiday-season advertising sales and Microsoft reported increased costs to develop new artificial-intelligence features.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around 1 percent each on Tuesday while the rupee rose by 5 paise to close at 83.11 against the dollar.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning following tech losses on Wall Street overnight.

The dollar headed for its biggest monthly gain since September and gold edged down slightly on diminishing Fed rate cuts bets.

Oil prices slipped after rising sharply in the U.S. trading session overnight on escalating Middle East tensions.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as investors reacted to a mixed bag of earnings from United Parcel Service and General Motors as well as upbeat readings on job openings and consumer confidence.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, while the Dow rose 0.4 percent to a new record closing high.

European stocks rose for the fifth straight session on Tuesday as data showed the eurozone economy avoided a technical recession in the second half of 2023.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX inched up 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 added half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent.