Sensex, Nifty May See Cautious Start Ahead Of CPI, IIP Data

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening little changed on Thursday as investors react to benign U.S. inflation data and await domestic CPI inflation and industrial output figures, due out later in the day for directional cues.

According to a report by Union Bank of India, India's industrial production growth, as indicated by IIP, may have improved to 3.7 percent year-on-year in October, from 3.1 percent in the previous month.

Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is expected to ease to 5.5 percent in November due to a decline in food prices, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty fluctuated in a narrow range before finishing marginally higher on Wednesday amid rising expectations of a shift in the Reserve Bank's monetary policy stance post the appointment of Sanjay Malhotra as the new RBI governor.

The rupee settled higher by 2 paise at 84.83 against the U.S. dollar, after having hit a record low of 84.87 in intraday trade.

Asian markets were broadly higher this morning, with Japan's Nikkei rallying nearly 1.5 percent as tech shares tracked overnight gains by their U.S. counterparts.

There were reports that China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken next year in response to the threat of a trade war with the U.S. The dollar index eased while gold dipped but held above $2,700 per ounce, ignoring higher U.S. yields.

Oil prices slipped after an overnight rally on possible sanctions on Russia by the European Union and expectations of increased demand from China.

Also, media reports suggest that the U.S. is considering imposing additional sanctions on Russia's energy sector.

U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight, and the dollar hit a two-week high as in-line inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by another quarter point next week.

Data showed the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in November, the largest gain since April after climbing by 0.2 percent for four straight months.

On an annual basis, inflation rose to 2.7 percent last month from a year ago, up slightly from 2.6 percent in October.

Core inflation stayed firm, rising 0.3 percent for the fourth straight month. The annual rate came in at 3.3 percent, in line with forecasts.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.8 percent to reach a new record high and close above 20,000 for the first time.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent to end just shy of a new high while the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks also closed higher on Wednesday as U.S. inflation figures matched expectations and Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country will meet its 5 percent GDP growth target.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose around 0.3 percent while France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent.