Sensex, Nifty Set For Weak Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a sluggish note Thursday, tracking mostly weak cues from global markets and amid mixed signals on U.S.-India trade talks.

Rising oil prices and continued selling by foreign investors may also keep investors on edge.

The goods and services tax (GST) reforms should "progressively result in a sustained positive impact through significant gains in ease of doing business, lower retail prices and strengthening of consumption growth drivers", the Reserve Bank of India said in its monthly bulletin.

Higher seasonal agricultural sowing is also expected to keep food prices in check, it said.

Metal stocks could be in focus today as copper prices soared after Freeport-McMoRan declared force majeure from contracted supplies.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell around half a percent each on Wednesday to extend losses for a fourth day running while the rupee settled 2 paise lower at a record low of 88.75 against the greenback.

Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 2,426 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the tune of Rs 1,212 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets were slightly lower in cautious trade this morning as investors fretted about sticky inflation and a slowing job market in the United States.

Treasury yields steadied after rising across the curve in the prior session. The dollar index was subdued after climbing Wednesday.

Gold was marginally lower, after having slipped from a new record high the previous day. Crude oil prices traded lower after climbing to a seven-week high during the prior session.

U.S. stocks ended lower for a second straight session overnight as investors reacted to mixed messages from Fed officials on interest rates and Alibaba's plans to up AI spending by $53 billion.

Investors ignored data that showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to the highest level in more than 3-1/2 years in August, as mortgage rates began to ease and builders offered discounts to lure in buyers.

The Dow dipped 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both fell around 0.3 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday amid valuation concerns and uncertainty over the future path of U.S. interest rates.

The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent while France's CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent.