Sensex, Nifty Seen Slightly Lower As French Elections Bring Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open a tad lower on Monday, tracking weak cues from other Asian markets as French elections pointed to a hung parliament.

A loose alliance of left-wing parties has won the most seats in France's high-stakes legislative elections Sunday but failed to win a majority.

Closer home, stock and sector-specific action is likely this week as focus shifts to Q1FY25 earnings and upcoming Budget.

TCS will kickstart the quarterly earnings season and release its Q1 numbers on July 11 followed by HCL Technologies on July 12 and Avenue Supermarts on July 13.

On the data front, reports on inflation, industrial output and forex reserves are due this week.

Asian markets were mostly lower this morning as investors await cues from the U.S. and China data due this week, including the release of the U.S. inflation print for June as well as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony.

The euro slipped against the dollar and gold dropped from a one-month high while oil was little changed.

U.S. stocks rose Friday while Treasury yields retreated after the release of key labor market data.

While employment jumped by more than expected in June, the report showed downward revisions to job growth in April and May as well as another unexpected uptick in the unemployment rate for the third straight month, fueling speculation the Fed will lower interest rates in the near future.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 added half a percent to end higher for the fourth straight session and reach new record closing highs while the Dow edged up 0.2 percent.

European stocks closed broadly lower on Friday, giving up early gains. The pan European STOXX 600 slid 0.2 percent.

The German DAX inched up 0.1 percent, while France's CAC 40 eased 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dipped half a percent.