Indian shares look set to extend their recent sell-off on Tuesday as growing concerns over fiscal slippage and the return of the long term capital gains tax on equities in this Budget may continue to haunt investors ahead of the RBI policy review due this week.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to change its monetary policy stance from 'neutral' to 'cautious' after a long period of accommodative stance.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty ended lower for a fifth consecutive session on Monday and bond prices fell further, while the rupee closed marginally lower at 64.07 per dollar.
Benchmark indexes in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan are down 2-5 percent this morning and Brent crude prices also fell to hover near one-month low while safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and gold held steady on safe-haven demand.
Overnight, U.S. stocks suffered one of their worst days in more than six years as concerns over returning inflation and higher interest rates overshadowed some upbeat economic news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 4.6 percent, the S&P 500 plummeted 4.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 3.8 percent.
European markets extended losses for a sixth straight session on Monday as a strong U.S. jobs report cemented the belief among investors that the Federal Reserve will likely hike interest rates again in March.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.6 percent to notch its lowest close since Nov. 15. The German DAX dropped 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed around 1.5 percent each.
by RTT Staff Writer
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