Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Asian Peers Higher

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a positive note Wednesday, defying Wall Street's declines and U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh warning that countries aligning with BRICS could face new U.S. tariffs.

In its latest World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund lifted the global growth forecast for this year and next but warned that the policy uncertainty remains high.

India's growth projection for this fiscal year was raised by 0.2 points to 6.6 percent, while the forecast for next fiscal was trimmed by the same amount to 6.2 percent.

On the earnings front, Axis Bank, IRFC, HDFC Life Insurance Company, HDFC Asset Management Company, Tata Communications and Delta Corp are among the prominent companies due to unveil their quarterly earnings results today.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended Tuesday's session down about 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively due to weak global cues and Nifty F&O expiry.

Falling oil prices, signs of easing domestic inflation and upbeat quarterly earnings results from IT major HCL Technologies helped limit overall losses to some extent. The rupee fell by 12 paise to close at 88.80 against the greenback.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs. 1,509 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the tune of Rs 3,661 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning as upbeat results from top U.S. banks and rising expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month offset Sino-U.S. tensions.

The dollar held losses in Asian trade and gold climbed toward $4,200 per ounce while crude oil hovered near a five-month low.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as the U.S. and China began charging tit-for-tat port fees on each other's ships, the IMF warned of a "disorderly" global market correction, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled two more quarter-point interest-rate cuts this year, citing a sharp slowdown in hiring.

Powell cautioned that "there is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate the tension between our employment and inflation goals."

The Dow ended 0.4 percent higher following strong third-quarter results from several big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

The S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.8 percent after President Trump accused China of an "economically hostile act" by purposefully not buying U.S. soybeans and threatened to terminate business with China having to do with cooking oil and other elements of trade as retribution.

European stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday as investors reacted to escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, the political upheaval in France and some downbeat regional economic data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.4 percent. The German DAX shed 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished 0.1 percent higher as the pound weakened after mixed jobs data.