Sensex, Nifty To Open On Flat Note Amid Weak Global Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open flat to slightly lower on Friday, reflecting weak global sentiment on concerns that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to achieve a soft landing of the U.S. economy.

Persistent selling by FIIs and concerns over the ongoing diplomatic tension between India and Canada over the murder of a Khalistani separatist leader may also keep markets under pressure.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around 0.8 percent each on Thursday amid concerns over higher oil prices and hawkish messages from global central banks.

Asian stocks were mixed this morning, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets trading in positive territory.

The Japanese yen weakened ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy announcement while gold and oil prices were seeing modest gains.

U.S. stocks suffered their biggest drop in six months overnight and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields touched a 16-year peak, given uncertainty about the Fed's monetary policy direction.

Data showed first-time weekly claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low, adding to the concerns about interest rates.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 1.8 percent to reach its lowest closing level in over three months, while the S&P 500 gave up 1.6 percent and the Dow declined 1.1 percent.

European stocks closed lower on Thursday as traders digested a raft of interest-rate decisions from central banks in England, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1.3 percent as the Bank of England held rates steady for the first time since November 2021.

The German DAX lost 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 plunged 1.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.7 percent.