Sensex, Nifty Seen Higher As Investors React To MPC And Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Thursday as investors react to a sharp fall in oil prices overnight and the release of MPC and FOMC minutes.

Oil prices fell by $2 per barrel to their lowest in two weeks on Wednesday, helping ease concerns around inflation.

Ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated that India's strong performance remains a "bright spot" in an uncertain global economy.

On the flip side, the U.S. central bank's rate-hiking cycle could be prolonged, with investors now pricing in more rate hikes until about June.

Closer home, the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)'s Feb 6-8 meeting showed an increasing degree of concern among most members over persistent inflationary pressures.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty tumbled around 1.5 percent each on Wednesday to extend losses for a fourth day running. The rupee fell by 10 paise to close at 82.89 against the dollar.

Asian markets traded mostly higher this morning and the dollar held firm while oil and gold prices were seeing modest gains.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before eventually ending on a mixed note overnight after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting.

The minutes showed that almost all participants backed a 25-bps hike but a few favored raising rates by 50 basis points to achieve price stability in a timely way. The Dow eased 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 inched down 0.2 percent to close at one-month lows, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1 percent.

European stocks ended Wednesday's session mostly lower as investors pondered the outlook for rates and economic growth.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.3 percent ahead of the publication of FOMC minutes.

The German DAX finished marginally higher, while France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.6 percent.