Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Global Peers Lower On Rate Fears

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open lower on Friday after strong U.S. economic data prompted 10-year Treasury yields to jump above 4 percent.

Amid fears of more rate hikes ahead by the Federal Reserve, investors now await the all-important U.S. jobs report due later in the day for additional clues on the economic and rate outlook.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would conduct a four-day variable rate reverse repo auction for a notified amount of Rs 2 lakh crore between 10:30 AM and 11:00 AM today, keeping in view the current and evolving liquidity conditions.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each on Thursday as unabated foreign fund inflows offset weak global sentiment. The rupee hit a one-month low before closing at 82.51 to the dollar.

Asian markets followed Wall Street lower this morning amid interest-rate worries.

Japanese household spending data disappointed and Samsung Electronics reported its worst decline in quarterly revenue since at least 2009, adding to the gloomy mood.

The dollar eased after a brief rebound on Thursday while gold held steady but was on track for a fourth consecutive weekly loss. Oil prices traded flat, but were set for a second weekly gain.

U.S. stocks fell notably overnight as upbeat private payrolls and service sector data added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Wednesday's hawkish Federal Reserve minutes.

The Dow lost 1.1 percent to log its biggest single day fall since May 2, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both shed around 0.8 percent.

European stocks tumbled on Thursday as bond yields spiked on fears of more interest-rate hikes from the Fed and ECB.

The pan European STOXX 600 gave up 2.3 percent. The German DAX plunged 2.6 percent, France's CAC 40 plummeted 3.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slumped 2.2 percent.