Sensex, Nifty Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a cautious note on Wednesday as investors weigh geopolitical tensions and wait for the Federal Reserve to provide an update on the central bank's interest-rate decision.

Geopolitical tensions escalated as Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest strikes airstrikes in Gaza are only the beginning and that all ceasefire negotiations will take place under fire.

Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to temporarily halt attacks on energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine but refrained from endorsing a full 30-day ceasefire.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 1.5 percent each on Tuesday to scale one-month highs, fueled by a wave of massive short covering undertaken by foreign institutional investors after a month of relentless selling.

The rupee gained 23 paise to close at Rs 86.57 against the dollar, rising for a third straight session and marking its highest in over three weeks supported by dollar inflows and exporter sales.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning ahead of interest-rate decisions from the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.

The Japanese yen held steady while the dollar struggled for direction as fears of an economic downturn mount.

Gold hovered near record highs while oil held a decline after industry data pointed to a build in U.S. crude stockpiles.

U.S. stocks pulled back overnight after a two-day rally. As recession fears rise, encouraging industrial production and housing data helped cap overall losses to some extent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 shed 1.1 percent and the Dow eased 0.6 percent amid concerns over President Trump's on-again-off-again tariff policy.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday after Germany's Bundestag approved a crucial fiscal package, allowing the country to increase defense spending and infrastructure investment.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.6 percent. The German DAX rallied 1 percent, France's CAC 40 rose half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.3 percent.