NewZNew (Mumbai) : BSE Sensex and Nifty were higher today but the gains were capped amid weak global markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting. The Sensex was up 60 points to 26,813 while Nifty edged higher by 14 points to regain the 8000 level. Asian shares wobbled on Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting and as oil prices extended declines.
The Fed is expected to announce the completion of its quantitative easing programme after a two-day meeting starting later in the session and will likely reinforce its stated willingness to wait a long while before hiking interest rates after a volatile month in financial markets. “With the end of the asset purchase programme a foregone conclusion, speculation is once again mounting about the movement of interest rates,” said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG.
Data on Monday showed US services sector activity slowed in October to a six-month low, while manufacturing output in Texas decreased, providing more evidence that the Fed has reason to wait before raising U.S. interest rates. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched down about 0.1 per cent in early trade, after a lacklustre session on Wall Street.
