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Indian shares are likely to open lower on Thursday as investors react to mixed catalysts. <\/p>\n
The U.S. Federal Reserve signaled potential rate cuts but warned of high inflation and uncertain path forward. <\/p>\n
Closer home, Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections soared to a new peak of Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April, marking a 12.4 percent increase year-on-year, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Separately, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, growth in India’s core sector output slowed to 5.2 percent year-on-year in March from 7.1 percent in February but was higher than March 2023 at 4.2 percent. <\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its growth forecast for India upward from its January projection of 6.5 percent to 6.8 percent. <\/p>\n
Asian markets<\/span> were mostly lower this morning and Treasuries were little changed after climbing Wednesday while gold edged higher as the Fed struck a less hawkish tone than expected. <\/p>\n Oil recovered some ground after slumping to a seven-week low Wednesday on bearish inventory data.<\/p>\n U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing slightly higher overnight after the Fed held rates steady and cited lack of progress on inflation to cut interest rates from a two-decade high. <\/p>\n The U.S. central bank also announced that it would shrink its balance sheet at a slower pace to ease strains in money markets. <\/p>\n On the data front, private payrolls increased at a faster than expected pace in April, while factory activity contracted in the month on declining demand, separate reports revealed.<\/p>\n While the Dow inched up 0.2 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both dipped around 0.3 percent. <\/p>\n Most European markets were closed on Wednesday for May Day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n