Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening On Flat Note

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a flat note Monday, reflecting ongoing concerns about the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

Recent U.S. reports on consumer and producer price inflation and retail sales coupled with hawkish comments from Fed officials boosted the dollar and yields, denting demand for emerging markets assets, including India.

It is now feared that the Federal Reserve could raise rates by another 50 basis points next month.

Geopolitical tensions also remain on investors' radar after North Korea fired two "tactical nuclear" rockets toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) this morning in response to U.S.-ROK aerial drills held the previous day.

Apart from global cues, indexes rejig, the impending F&O expiry and the release of RBI's minutes of the latest policy meeting may sway sentiment in the week ahead.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning and gold edged down on a firmer dollar as investors looked ahead to key economic data due this week as well as the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated to be released Wednesday for directional cues.

Oil prices were little changed after falling around 4 percent last week after the United States reported higher crude and gasoline inventories.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as yields on the 10-year and 2-year U.S. Treasury bonds hit levels not seen since November amid lingering worries about stubbornly high inflation and expectations the Fed will keep raising rates for longer.

The Dow inched up 0.4 percent but notched its third straight week of losses. The S&P 500 eased 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 percent.

European stocks came off early lows on Friday but still finished in the red, dragged down by energy and tech stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gave up 0.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both slipped around 0.3 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished edged down 0.1 percent.