Sensex, Nifty Set To Follow Global Peers Higher

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a buoyant note Thursday as June's weak U.S. ISM PMIs, rising jobless claims and signs of slowdown in private-sector employment helped raise bets the Federal Reserve could move as soon as September to begin lowering borrowing costs.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty jumped around 0.7 percent each to reach fresh record highs on Wednesday while the rupee ended marginally lower at 83.53 against the dollar.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 5,484 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors net sold shares to the extent of Rs 924 crore, stock exchange data revealed.

The FIIs net index longs stood at 83.62 percent in the derivatives segment, while shorts at 16.38 percent.

Asian markets followed Wall Street higher to hit a 27-month peak this morning, though trading volumes remained thin due to the Independence Day holiday in the U.S.

The dollar was on the defensive and gold edged up on rate-cut bets while oil eased, after having risen overnight on data showing a surprisingly large decline in U.S. crude stocks.

U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight as weak economic data cemented hopes for an interest-rate cut in September.

Treasury yields fell and the dollar slumped as data showed initial jobless claims rose last week, the U.S. services sector contracted in June at the fastest pace in four years and private-sector job creation slowed for a third straight month, with pay gains for both job stayers and job changers slowing.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 gained half a percent to hit new record closing highs in an abbreviated trading session while the Dow ended flat with a negative bias.

European stocks closed on a firm note Wednesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was heading downwards.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 0.7 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rallied by 1.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent.