Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Global Peers Higher

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may edge higher at open on Thursday as investors react to falling oil prices and news of a delay in certain U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped over 1 percent each on Wednesday, breaking a prolonged losing streak in the wake of firm cues from global markets.

The rupee stayed firm for the third straight session and settled 13 paise higher at 87.06 against the greenback - marking its best single-day gain since February 11, 2025 due to falling U.S. Treasury yields and a weakening dollar in international markets.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers and offloaded shares worth Rs 2,895 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of shares to the extent of Rs 3,370 crore, as per provisional data.

Asian markets traded mostly higher this morning while the dollar index held steady after falling 1 percent in the previous session.

Gold ticked higher while Treasuries were little changed after declining in the previous session.

Oil prices recovered some ground after declining for four consecutive sessions to the lowest level in six months on growth worries and signs from OPEC+ it may boost supply.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight after reports emerged that President Donald Trump was considering a one-month delay of auto tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

The White House later confirmed the exemption for automakers and said Trump was open to providing additional tariff exemptions.

A slew of economic data painted a mixed picture of the economy, with private payrolls increasing in February at the slowest pace in seven months while new orders for U.S. manufactured goods rebounded in January amid a surge in commercial aircraft bookings.

There was an unexpected rise in growth in the services sector in February, but signs of increased input prices tempered optimism.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.5 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow both rose about 1.1 percent.

European stocks closed on a buoyant note Wednesday amid U.S. tariff relief hopes, Germany's plans to overhaul its debt policy and the prospect of further stimulus for the Chinese economy.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.9 percent after logging its worst day since August 2024 the previous day.

The German DAX soared 3.4 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.6 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.