The Indian stock market is predicted to have a flat to slightly lower opening on Tuesday, reflecting the global market's weak signals as traders eagerly anticipate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony and crucial jobs data to get further insights into the U.S. central bank's rate direction.
Jerome Powell is set to testify before the House and Senate committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, while the decision on the European Central Bank rate is expected on Thursday.
On Monday, the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with a marginal increase following a volatile trading session. The Indian rupee appreciated by 0.02 to 82.89 against the U.S. dollar.
Asian markets broadly experienced a downturn after China announced a GDP growth target of 5 percent for the year.
Gold reached a three-month high driven by the prospects of a Federal Reserve rate cut and weak U.S. economic data. Meanwhile, oil experienced an extended loss from the previous night due to apprehensions about the future demand for energy.
U.S. stocks retreated from record-high levels overnight while Treasury yields rose slightly due to uncertainty regarding the direction of interest rates. The Dow Jones decreased by 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 by 0.1 percent, and the technology-centric Nasdaq Composite went down by 0.4 percent.
European stocks largely experienced declines on Monday as investors awaited signals from China's annual parliamentary meetings, Jerome Powell's congressional testimony, and the European Central Bank's policy meeting. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended with a slight decrease. The German DAX went down by 0.1 percent, the UK's FTSE 100 by 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 experienced a slight rise of 0.3 percent.
