Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Lower As Oil Rally Continues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad lower on Wednesday as global growth concerns returned to the fore.

The World Bank on Tuesday cut India's growth forecast for 2023-24 to 6.3 percent from its December estimate of 6.6 percent, citing global headwinds.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also said that India's economy would grow at a slower-than-expected 6.4 percent this year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will deliver its monetary policy outcome on Thursday, with analysts expecting a 25-bps repo rate hike.

Energy stocks would be in focus today after the government cut the windfall tax on selling domestic crude oil and halved the export levy on diesel.

Indian stock markets were closed on Tuesday for Mahavir Jayanti. Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around 0.2 percent each on Monday while the rupee fell by 10 paise to close at 82.31 against the dollar.

Asian markets struggled for direction this morning after JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s chief Jamie Dimon warned the U.S. banking crisis is ongoing and will have effects for years to come.

The dollar held near two-month lows as new data indicated that the softening in the U.S. labor market is gaining momentum.

Gold hovered near record highs seen in 2020 while oil extended gains for a fifth consecutive session.

U.S. stocks declined overnight as oil prices continued to surge and data showed job openings fell dramatically to a two-year low in February, raising worries about the economic outlook.

A separate report showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell for a second straight month in February.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both slipped around 0.6 percent to snap a four-day winning streak while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed half a percent.

European stocks ended on a subdued note Tuesday as investors weighed the likely impact of rising oil prices on monetary policy and global growth.

The pan European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. The German DAX inched up 0.1 percent while France's CAC 40 index closed flat with a negative bias and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped half a percent.