Sensex, Nifty Seen Drifting Lower On Powell's Hawkish Comments

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open sharply lower on Thursday, mirroring weak global cues after Fed Chair Jerome Powell talked tough on inflation and poured cold water on any hope of a December Fed pivot.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended down around 0.3 percent each on Wednesday to snap a four-day winning streak. The rupee fell by 19 paise to settle at 82.78 against the greenback.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said that the Indian currency has behaved in an orderly manner and its trajectory shouldn't be looked at emotionally.

Meanwhile, the off-cycle meet of the RBI scheduled today is set to be a "non-event" for financial markets as no rate action is expected.

Asian stocks slipped as U.S. 10-year bond yields rose to near 4.08 percent and the dollar strengthened post Fed rate hike.

Oil prices fell after rising sharply on Wednesday as data showed declines in crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. in the week ended October 28th.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 75 basis points, as widely expected, and signaled more increases ahead saying the Committee will consider the cumulative tightening of monetary policy while determining the pace of future increases.

Observers characterized Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments at the press conference as more hawkish than expected.

The Dow lost 1.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 3.4 percent and the S&P 500 slumped 2.5 percent after Powell said it was "very premature" to discuss pausing rate increases and that the Fed hasn't "overtightened" yet.

European stocks dropped for the first time in three days on Wednesday ahead of the Fed decision.

The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 gave up 0.8 percent while the German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both shed around 0.6 percent.