Indian Shares Set For Positive Start After Powell's Speech
(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad higher on Friday, mirroring firm global cues even as Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned against prematurely loosening policy, raising the likelihood that the Fed will hikes interest rates by 75 basis points at this month's meeting.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty rose about 1 percent each on Thursday to snap a two-day losing streak, while the rupee rose by 23 paise to close at 79.72 against the greenback amid easing crude oil prices and the firm trend in domestic equities.
Asian markets rose broadly, and U.S. Treasury yields edged up slightly, while the dollar eased against a basket of currencies on improved risk sentiment.
Oil prices fell in Asian trade and headed for a 4 percent weekly loss on demand worries.
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session higher overnight despite Powell reiterating the central bank's commitment to aggressively fight inflation to bring it back down to 2 percent.
The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both gained around 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent.
European stocks closed higher on Thursday, led by banks as the ECB raised its key interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points, and signaled further tightening in the coming months to tackle record inflation.
Investors also reacted to Powell's warning about the dangers of allowing elevated prices to become entrenched.
The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced half a percent. The German DAX finished marginally lower, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both inched up around 0.3 percent.