Sensex, Nifty Likely To See Muted Start Ahead Of Budget And FOMC Meeting

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open higher on Monday after last week's brutal selloff.

That said, a cautious undertone may prevail amid muted global cues and ahead of the crucial Union Budget on Feb. 1.

On the earnings front, Bajaj FinServ, L&T, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra are among the prominent companies that will unveil their quarterly earnings results this week.

Adani Group stocks would continue to remain focus after the Group published a 413-page rebuttal of allegations of wrongdoing by short seller Hindenburg Research.

The Group said that Hindenburg Research's report was driven by "an ulterior motive" to "create a false market" to allow the U.S. firm to make financial gains.

"This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," it said.

Separate reports indicate that capital market regulator SEBI is likely to probe short selling in the Indian stock markets in the last few days.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning, as investors looked ahead to the interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England this week.

China's Shanghai Composite was rising half a percent as traders returned from the Lunar New Year holidays.

The dollar traded firm and gold held steady while oil ticked higher after a drone attack in Iran and China's pledge to promote consumption.

Meanwhile, OPEC and allies led by Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, are unlikely to recommend any changes to oil output policy when they meet virtually on Feb. 1.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing mostly higher on Friday as a slew of economic data boosted optimism about the overall health of the world's largest economy.

Personal income increased in line with estimates in December, pending home sales rose for the first time in seven months and a measure of consumer sentiment improved in January while a closely watched measure of inflation showed the pace of price increases easing.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1 percent to log its fourth weekly gain, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent and the Dow inched up marginally. European stocks closed on a positive note Friday after U.S. GDP data beat expectations.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. The German DAX edged up around 0.1 percent while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both finished marginally higher.