Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Lower Ahead Of RBI Meeting

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening slightly lower on Thursday after scoring big gains in the previous session.

Recession worries returned to haunt investors as another round of U.S. data pointed to a slowing economy. At the same time, markets are now pricing in more chances of the Fed standing pat on interest rates at its next policy meeting in May.

Closer home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its interest-rate decision today, with a large majority of economists expecting a 25-bps rate hike.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 1 percent each on Wednesday and the rupee strengthened past 82 to the dollar to touch a more than three-week high, as weak U.S. economic data curbed expectations for further Fed tightening.

Asian markets traded mostly lower this morning and gold prices slipped on a firmer dollar as investors await the release of key U.S. non-farm payroll report later in the day for directional cues.

Oil prices declined on concerns that a weakening U.S. economy may weigh on fuel demand.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower overnight and Treasury yields hit seven-month lows as weak readings on private sector employment and service sector activity fanned fears of a recession.

The Dow inched up 0.2 percent led by Walmart and Johnson & Johnson, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1 percent.

European stocks also finished mostly lower on Wednesday as regional surveys showed uneven recovery across industries and countries.

The pan European STOXX 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped half a percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent.