Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Asian Peers Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open marginally lower on Tuesday as investors react to weak Asian cues and data showing India's trade deficit narrowed in June on the back of some recovery in global demand and the shrinking of import bill.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty eked out modest gains on Monday to close at record highs, while the rupee fell by 11 paise to close at a record low of 83.62 against the dollar.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth a net Rs 2,684.78 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares net worth Rs 331 crore, according to provisional data available on the NSE.

Asian markets were muted this morning as investors pondered over the prospects of a more expansive fiscal policy under Donald Trump in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting.

The dollar was slightly higher in Asian trade and gold hovered near a one-month high amid rising hopes for a Fed rate cut in September while oil extended overnight losses on demand concerns.

U.S. stocks closed on a firm note overnight, with two of the three major indices moving on to record fresh highs, on optimism about interest-rate cuts by the Fed and rising prospects of former President Donald Trump winning the upcoming presidential elections.

The Dow gained half a percent, the S&P 500 edged up 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.4 percent despite data showing a continued decline in New York state manufacturing activity.

European stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by some disappointing economic data from China, and none too encouraging corporate earnings updates.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 1 percent. The German DAX shed 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 lost 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.9 percent.