Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may struggle for direction at open on Tuesday as investors weigh escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and keep a close eye on oil price movements for direction.

Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon early Monday resulted in the deaths of at least 492 people, including 35 children, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each to reach new record levels on Monday for a third day running while the rupee ended flat at 83.55 against the dollar.

Asian stocks traded mixed this morning, with Chinese, Hong Kong and Japanese markets rising following dovish comments from the Bank of Japan and expectations that Beijing will ramp up efforts to boost growth.

Gold held steady after reaching a record high in the previous session in the wake of comments from Federal Reserve officials supporting future interest rate cuts. Oil edged up on concerns of a wider Middle East conflict.

U.S. stocks closed marginally higher overnight as Fed officials hinted at further easing and the Bloomberg reported that Apollo Global Management (APO) has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel.

On the data front, a gauge of U.S. business activity held steady in September, but average prices charged for goods and services rose at the fastest pace in six months.

The Dow edged up 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to post record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Monday despite weak business activity readings from the euro zone and the U.K.

The pan European STOXX rose 0.4 percent. The German DAX climbed 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.4 percent.