Sensex, Nifty Seen Flat To Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open flat to slightly lower on Thursday despite mostly positive cues from global markets.

Amid trade tensions with the U.S., investors may keep a close eye on the meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled to take place on Friday, for directional cues.

Trump has warned of severe consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the meeting in Alaska. He made this announcement after consulting with European leaders.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 0.4 percent and half a percent, respectively on Wednesday as new data showed India's consumer price inflation eased more-than-expected in July to the lowest level in just over eight years.

The rupee gained 0.31 percent to close at 87.44, marking its highest intraday gain since July 3 on broad dollar weakness in international markets.

The RBI granted permission for persons resident outside India who maintain Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) to invest their surplus rupee balances in government securities, including treasury bills, aiming to boost the internationalization of the rupee.

FIIs net sold shares worth Rs 3,644 crore on Wednesday, while DIIs net bought shares to the tune of Rs 5,623 crore, as per provisional data.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning, even as Japan's Nikkei fell over 1 percent on profit taking after recent strong gains to record highs.

Treasuries were steady after rallying in the prior session while oil rebounded from two-month lows. Gold ticked higher as the dollar extended losses for a third consecutive day.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as tame inflation data released the day before spurred bets of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to reach new record closing highs while the narrower Dow climbed 1 percent.

European stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday on easing trade and geopolitical tensions.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained half a percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose around 0.7 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2 percent.