Sensex, Nifty Seen Slightly Higher As Investors Await Earnings

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a positive note Wednesday, with firm global cues and optimism for strong quarterly earnings likely to aid investor sentiment.

TCS will kickstart the Q4 earnings season today while Infosys will unveil its earnings on Thursday.

Adani Group stocks could be in focus after reports that LIC has increased its holding in four group companies in the March quarter.

Meanwhile, the Indian economy continues to perform well and remains one of the fastest growing in the world, a top official of the International Monetary Fund told PTI in an interview on Tuesday.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent and 0.6 percent, respectively on Tuesday, with banks, auto and metal stocks leading the surge. The rupee fell by 13 paise to close at 82.12 against the dollar.

Asian stocks were mostly higher this morning as investors await U.S. inflation data to gauge near-term trajectory for interest rates.

The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for March will be released later today followed by wholesale prices on Thursday.

The FOMC minutes and the quarterly statements of top U.S. firms also remain on investors' radar.

The dollar index dipped, and Treasury yields portrayed cautious optimism after Fed officials sounded divergent notes about the central bank's next policy move.

While Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee called for "prudence and patience" in the face of recent banking stress, New York Fed President John Williams said Tuesday that Fed officials still have more work to do to bring down prices.

Gold ticked higher while oil prices were little changed after rallying about 2 percent on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight after the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast and warned it was too soon to sound the all-clear from the banking turmoil.

The S&P 500 finished marginally lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4 percent, while the Dow gained 0.3 percent.

European stocks rose on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks following the long Easter holiday weekend.

The pan-European STOXX 600 climbed 0.6 percent as soft inflation data from China stoked optimism about additional stimulus.

The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index climbed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent.