Sensex, Nifty To See Muted Start On Fed, Bank Concerns

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad lower on Thursday as bank contagion fears returned to the fore following reports that PacWest Bancorp is considering a sale, a breakup or a capital raise.

Investors also await the all-important U.S. jobs report and Apple's earnings for directional cues.

Closer home, Tata Group firm Titan Company reported a 40 percent rise in consolidated net profit in the fourth quarter ended March.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell modestly on Wednesday to snap an eight-day and six-session winning streak, respectively on the back of weak global cues.

However, the rupee gained 7 paise to close at 81.80 against the dollar.

Asian markets opened lower despite some softening in the Fed policy statement. Growth worries weighed after a private survey showed China's manufacturing activity slid back into contraction in April.

The dollar held losses, pushing gold prices to the highest levels on record. Oil prices recovered some lost ground, after having fallen around 4 percent overnight to extend steep losses from the previous session.

U.S. stocks slipped into the red overnight to extend losses from the previous session after the Federal Reserve delivered another quarter-point rate hike but signaled a potential pause in its tightening cycle depending on incoming data on inflation and other factors.

The Dow shed 0.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up half a percent and the S&P 500 declined 0.7 percent amid continuing debt-ceiling worries.

European stocks rose on Wednesday after logging their biggest fall in a month the previous day.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up 0.2 percent.