Sensex, Nifty Seen Little Changed At Open As Oil Prices Rally

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open on a flat note Tuesday, tracking mixed cues from global markets and ahead of IIP and inflation numbers due to be announced on Wednesday.

The upside, if any, may remain limited as oil prices jumped in international markets on hopes of higher seasonal fuel demand and potential U.S. crude purchases for its petroleum reserve.

Crude prices extended gains in Asian trading, after having soared about 3 percent to a one-week high on Monday.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fluctuated before finishing modestly lower on Monday. The rupee dropped 10 paise to close at 83.50 against the dollar after a jump in U.S. bond yields.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in Indian equities for the second straight day on Monday and bought stocks worth Rs 2,572 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares to the tune of Rs 2,764 crore, according to provisional data from stock exchanges.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning and the dollar held firm while gold edged lower as U.S. rate cut bets fade.

U.S. stocks eked out modest gains in cautious trade overnight as traders positioned themselves for upcoming inflation data and a Federal Reserve meeting.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to reach new record closing highs while the Dow inched up 0.2 percent.

European stocks closed lower on Monday as a win for far-right parties in EU elections prompted a bruised French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap parliamentary poll - fueling uncertainty in the bloc.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.3 percent. The German DAX slid 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 lost 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent.