Asian Market Updates

Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower As Wipro Numbers Disappoint

Indian shares look set to open lower on Thursday after consistent fund flows from local debt and equity markets saw the rupee plunging by as much as 52 paise to a 14-month low of 66.90 against the dollar on Wednesday.

There are also concerns that rising oil prices may hurt India's growth prospects. Brent crude oil futures held steady above $74 a barrel on hopes for strong demand growth as well as concerns over supply disruptions in Venezuela and the Middle East.

On the earnings front, Wipro posted weak quarterly earnings after making provisions for an insolvent client and impairments, while ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Indiabulls Real Estate and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Serves all posted encouraging results.

Biocon, HIL, Reliance Capital and SBI Life Insurance Company are among the prominent companies that will unveil their quarterly earnings later today.

Asian stocks are mostly higher on optimism over earnings, while the dollar hovered near three-month highs against a basket of currencies ahead of rate decisions from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.

Traders also remain focused on U.S. GDP data out Friday and the looming inter-Korean meeting.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing mixed as strong earnings from the likes of Boeing and Texas Instruments helped investors shrug off worries about higher interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to snap a five-day losing streak and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.1 percent.

European markets ended Wednesday's session firmly in the red on concerns over rising bond yields. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index shed 0.8 percent.

The German DAX tumbled 1 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both lost about 0.6 percent.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

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