Sensex, Nifty Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are likely to open on a cautious note Tuesday, tracking muted cues from global markets.

Banks could be in focus today on eve of the weekly expiry of the Nifty Financial Services index.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty moved in a narrow range on Monday before closing up around 0.2 percent each.

The rupee fell by 7 paise to close at 83.92 against the dollar, taking cues from weakness in regional peers and disappointing domestic macroeconomic data.

Asian markets struggled to find footing this morning due to jitters over China's economy and ahead of the release of the U.S. jobs report later in the week that could shed additional light on the Fed's rate path.

Money markets currently expect the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) in September, with odds of a 50-bps cut diminishing further after last week's data.

The dollar held close to a two-week high against the euro and the yen, while spot gold dipped further after hitting a more than one-week low in the previous session.

Oil prices traded mixed as concerns over China's economic outlook and expectations of increased OPEC+ production from October offset supply disruptions from Libya following political unrest.

In a significant escalation of tensions, two crude oil tankers, the Saudi-flagged Amjad and Panama-flagged Blue Lagoon I, were attacked in the Red Sea on Monday by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday in observance of Labour Day.

European stocks ended mixed on Monday as data showed continued contraction in eurozone manufacturing activity in August. The pan European STOXX 600 ended flat with a negative bias.

The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent to set a new record close despite populist wins in state election injecting uncertainty. France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.2 percent.