Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower At Open On Powell's Hawkish Remarks

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open on a weak note Thursday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that inflationary pressures continue to run high, and the tightening has "a long way to go", raising fears of an imminent recession.

If the Fed decides to revert to its recent quarter-point increases, the forecast suggests the central bank will raise rates two more times this year.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty eked out modest gains on Wednesday to reach record closing highs despite weak cues from global markets. The rupee gained 7 paise to close at 82.02 against the dollar.

Asian markets traded mostly lower this morning, with Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets closed for a holiday.

"China's economic development is showing sound momentum in the first half of the year," Chinese media Xinhua quoted Vice Premier He Lifeng as saying on Tuesday.

The dollar held near a one-month low against a basket of currencies and gold held steady after four days of losses, while oil held on to the previous session's gains on data showing a surprise dip in U.S. crude inventory stocks.

U.S. stocks declined overnight after Fed Chair Powell reiterated that interest rates would need to rise further to contain stubbornly elevated inflation.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 gave up half a percent to record their third successive session of losses while the Dow eased 0.3 percent.

European stocks ended Wednesday's session lower on shocking inflation data from the U.K., the lack of new stimulus measures from China and hawkish signals from the Fed.

The pan European STOXX 600 shed half a percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 added half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent.