Sensex, Nifty Set To Extend Losses As US Bond Yields Continue To Spike

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening lower on Thursday amid a sell-off in the U.S. bond market and investor anxiety ahead of the general election results, due next week.

The Lok Sabha exit poll results will be announced post the completion of all seven phases on June 01. The actual results will be announced on June 4th.

On the positive side, S&P Global Ratings has raised India's sovereign rating outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' while retaining the rating at 'BBB- '.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fell 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively on Wednesday, while the rupee settled 22 paise lower at 83.40 against the dollar.

Asian stocks were broadly lower this morning due to inflation and interest-rate concerns.

Japan's Nikkei fell nearly 2 percent amid rising government bond yields while Chinese markets clung to modest gains.

The dollar soared to a two-week high against its major peers as investors awaited key inflation readings from the euro zone and the U.S. for direction.

Gold edged down slightly while oil was marginally higher after retreating on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks ended lower overnight as bond yields spiked for a second day on uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note hit its highest level in nearly a month after a $44 billion auction of seven-year Treasury notes was met with tepid demand.

The Dow fell 1.1 percent to reach its lowest closing level in almost a month while the S&P 500 gave up 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6 percent.

European stocks fell for a second straight session on Wednesday after data revealed German inflation rose slightly more than forecast to 2.8 percent in May.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 1.1 percent. The German DAX lost 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.9 percent.