Sensex, Nifty Set To Drift Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a subdued note Friday as a weakening rupee fueled worries that foreign portfolio investors could sell holdings like they did in October. For the year so far, FIIs have net sold Rs 2.94 lakh crore worth of shares.

IT stocks could be in focus today after Accenture beat the quarterly revenue estimates on strong genAI service demand.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell over 1 percent each on Thursday to extend losses for a fourth day running as hawkish Fed commentary lifted yields and sparked a broad dollar rally.

The rupee dropped 14 paise to close at a record low of 85.08 against the greenback.

Asian markets were mostly lower this morning amid concerns that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's fiscal, trade and tariff policies could prompt the Federal Reserve to end its rate-cutting cycle.

Oil and gold prices headed for a weekly decline as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields continued to surge amid expectations for prolonged high U.S. interest rates.

In China, the People's Bank of India maintained its benchmark lending rates, defying market predictions for a cut.

The Japanese yen hovered near a five-month low amid growing speculation that the Bank of Japan is unlikely to raise interest rates in the near future.

In South Korea, the Korean currency flirted with the lowest level in more than 15 years amid pressure from the domestic political situation and a stronger dollar.

U.S. stocks ended flat overnight after steep declines in the previous session on Fed's hawkish tilt.

Largely positive data reinforced the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts, with weekly initial jobless claims falling more than expected, existing home sales spiking to an eight-month high and Q3 GDP revised to show a 3.1 percent increase from the previously reported 2.8 percent pace.

The Dow inched up marginally after hitting its lowest level in over a month the previous day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended with a negative bias.

European stocks hit multi-week lows on Thursday after a hawkish forecast from the Fed and slightly dovish Bank of England rate decision.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1.5 percent to hit a three-week low. The German DAX dipped 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 1.1 percent.