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Oil slips after US crude stocks rise
Oil prices fell in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed US crude inventories unexpectedly rose last week as a deep freeze in the southern states curbed demand from refineries that were forced to shut.
Crude stockpiles rose by 1 million barrels in the week to Feb. 19, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday, against estimates for a draw of 5.2 million barrels in a Reuters poll.
API data showed refinery crude runs fell by 2.2 million bpd.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 55 cents or 0.9% at $61.12 a barrel at 0136 GMT, after slipping 3 cents on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $64.99 a barrel, erasing Tuesday's 13 cents gain.
Markets at close on Tuesday
Markets found firmer ground on Tuesday after five days of heavy losses as investors made a cautious return to select energy, banking and infra counters amid mixed global cues.
After gyrating 667.46 points during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended just 7.09 points or 0.01% higher at 49,751.41.
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty settled 32.10 points or 0.22% up at 14,707.80.
ONGC topped the Sensex gainers' chart, climbing 5.55%, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, SBI, NTPC and Titan.
Asian markets mixed
Asian markets were mixed in the early trade on Tuesday and Treasury yields were steady as investors balanced the risk of a stronger recovery driving global rates higher against the Federal Reserve’s pledge of continued policy support.
Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.46%.
South Korea's KOSPI added 0.3%.
Singapore's SGX Nifty climbed 0.6%.
Australia's ASX200 dropped 0.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.23%.
Wall Street ends lower
Wall Street retreated on Tuesday as investors shifted away from mega-cap growth stocks, but the sell-off eased following reassurances from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 67.55 points, or 0.21%, to 31,454.14, the S&P 500 lost 15.81 points, or 0.41%, to 3,860.69 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 199.48 points, or 1.47%, to 13,333.57.
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