Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Higher On Trade Deal Hopes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares look set to open on a positive note Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he would reduce the tariff rate on Indian goods "at some point," and that the U.S. was "pretty close" to a trade deal with New Delhi that's good for everybody.

Meanwhile, nine people have been killed and 20 injured after a blast in a car near Red Fort on Monday evening. Home Minister Amit Shah said officials are "exploring all possibilities" into what could have caused the explosion.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty eked out modest gains on Monday to snap a three-day losing streak, mirroring firm cues from global markets.

The rupee fell by 6 paise to close at 88.71 against the dollar, with a soft dollar in international markets offering little help.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs. 4,115 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs. 5,805 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Asian markets traded mixed this morning while the dollar held steady as the U.S. Senate began a series of votes on the GOP deal to end the longest government shutdown in history.

The bipartisan legislation still needs to be approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The reopening would lead to the resumption of the release of key U.S. economic data on jobs and inflation, heading into next month's Federal Reserve interest-rate decision.

Gold extended gains to a near three-week high on growing expectations of another Fed rate cut in December.

In an interview with CNBC, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has called for continuing with rate cuts, citing better-than-expected inflation data and signs of continued weakness in the labor market.

Oil prices edged lower after settling modestly higher on Monday.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight after the Senate voted 60-40 in favor of a temporary funding bill to end the government shutdown, which recently became the longest in U.S. history.

The measure does call for a vote on the extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits and would also reverse some of the recent mass federal layoffs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5 percent and the Dow rose 0.8 percent.

European stocks closed on a strong note on Monday after U.S. lawmakers moved towards ending the historic U.S. government shutdown.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 1.4 percent. The German DAX jumped 1.7 percent, France's CAC 40 surged 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.1 percent.