Indian shares are projected to open lower on Thursday, influenced by a sell-off in the U.S. bond market and investor apprehension ahead of next week's general election results.
The Lok Sabha exit poll results will be announced after the conclusion of all seven phases on June 1st, with the official results set to be revealed on June 4th.
Notably, S&P Global Ratings has upgraded India's sovereign rating outlook from 'stable' to 'positive', while keeping the rating at 'BBB-'.
On Wednesday, benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty declined by 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively, and the rupee settled 22 paise lower at 83.40 against the dollar.
Asian markets were broadly down this morning due to ongoing inflation and interest-rate concerns. Japan's Nikkei dropped nearly 2% amidst rising government bond yields, whereas Chinese markets managed to hold onto modest gains.
The dollar surged to a two-week high against major currencies as investors awaited critical inflation data from both the Eurozone and the U.S. for guidance.
Gold experienced a slight dip, while oil prices edged higher after a decline on Wednesday.
In the U.S., stocks closed lower overnight due to a second-day spike in bond yields, driven by uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve's interest-rate strategy. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest level in nearly a month after a $44 billion auction of seven-year Treasury notes saw lukewarm demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, marking its lowest closing level in almost a month. The S&P 500 lost 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.6%.
European stocks also fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday. Data indicated that German inflation for May rose slightly higher than anticipated to 2.8%.
The pan-European STOXX 600 decreased by 1.1%, with the German DAX losing 1.1%, France's CAC 40 falling 1.5%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shedding 0.9%.
