Indian Shares Seen Higher On Global Cues; RBI Rate Decision Eyed

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a buoyant note on Wednesday as crude oil prices slumped and global bond yields eased amid hopes for progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy announcement is due today, with the central bank widely expected to leave the repo rate as well its current policy stance unchanged despite growing risks to inflation due to higher crude oil prices and a weaker monsoon season.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended Tuesday's session lower after four consecutive sessions of gains. The BSE Sensex dropped 0.3 percent after closing at over three-month high on Monday.

The NSE Nifty index fell 0.6 percent after having ended at a five-month high the previous day. The rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 95.40 against the U.S. dollar.

Foreign institutional investors continued their buying streak and net bought shares worth Rs 2,446.47 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors net sold shares worth Rs 936.14 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher this morning, with South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei surging 3-4 percent.

The U.S. dollar hovered near a six-week low, helping gold prices edge up above $4,100 an ounce.

Brent crude futures were subdued below $79 a barrel and were down about 10 percent so far this week as optimism grew over a potential interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.