FX.co ★ Sensex, Nifty Seen Tad Lower Ahead Of Holiday Break

Indian markets are predicted to open hesitantly today as investors keenly anticipate key American inflation data and statements from the Federal Reserve for guidance on the direction of interest rates.

Apart from this, a market holiday due to Good Friday on March 29 might also compel some investors to hold off for now.

Today, banks and non-banking financial companies may come under the spotlight after the Reserve Bank of India tweaked the regulations for their investment in Alternative Investment Funds (AIF).

On Wednesday, despite mixed signals from the global market, benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty enjoyed an increase of approximately 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

Asian markets, for the most part, have witnessed an upswing this morning. However, Japan's Nikkei index has experienced an over 1 percent drop amidst possible intervention from the Bank of Japan in the foreign exchange markets.

The US dollar is performing well against other global currencies, post the Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's assertion of no hurry in interest rate reduction.

Meanwhile in Asia, gold is trading at slightly reduced prices while oil prices are recouping from two successive sessions of losses.

Last night in the US, there were usual ebbs and flows in the stock market before it closed mainly on a high note, boosted by a last-minute surge. This upward trend was fuelled by a decrease in Treasury yields owing to optimism about rate cuts.

The Dow Jones saw an impressive 1.2 percent rally, the S&P 500 increased by 0.9 percent, breaking the streak of three consecutive days of losses. Also, the technology saturated Nasdaq Composite rose by a modest 0.5 percent.

On the European front, stock markets achieved record-breaking highs on Wednesday. This was driven by Sweden's Riksbank preparing for a potential rate cut as early as May, and bolstered by the recent data indicating a rise in confidence in the eurozone economy in March.

The pan-European STOXX 600 had a minimal increase of 0.1 percent. German DAX increased by 0.5 percent, France's CAC 40 enjoyed a 0.3 percent gain and the UK's FTSE 100 ended slightly up.