Sensex, Nifty Set For Muted Start

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open a tad higher on Wednesday, tracking firm cues from other Asian markets.

That said, volatility cannot be ruled out due to rising geopolitical tensions and an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields, with a Federal Reserve official warning that policy uncertainty will have a 'meaningful' impact on the economic outlook.

U.S. intelligence reports suggest that Israel is preparing for potential strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and the chance of a strike would be more likely if the U.S. reached a deal with Iran that did not remove all of the country's uranium.

In economic releases, data showed that India's core sector output grew by a mere 0.5 percent in April, the slowest pace in eight months due to contraction in refinery and fertilizer output and high base effect.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell over 1 percent each on Tuesday and the rupee declined by 16 paise to settle at 85.58 against the greenback as investors watched the latest developments in the ongoing India-U.S. trade discussions.

Asian markets were broadly higher in cautious trade this morning. The U.S. dollar weakened as U.S. President Trump struggled to gain support for his tax bill. Oil prices were up nearly 2 percent in Asian trade.

Gold hovered close to $3,300 per ounce after rising for a second day on Tuesday as uncertainty grew over U.S. tariffs and Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks.

U.S. stocks fell slightly overnight as investors dumped tech stocks after recent strong gains.

The Dow dipped 0.3 percent to snap three consecutive sessions of gains under pressure from rising Treasury yields as President Trump increased the pressure on House Republicans to pass his sweeping bill to extend trillions of dollars of tax cuts and slash government spending.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.4 percent after a two-session winning streak and the S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent to snap a six-day rally.

European stocks closed at near nine-week highs on Tuesday after some positive corporate earnings and cautious optimism over the EU-U.K. trade deal.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.7 percent. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.9 percent.