Indian shares are set to open higher on Tuesday after Reliance Industries, the country's biggest private sector company, reported a 1.7 percent increase in quarterly profit, beating forecasts, helped by higher refining margins and strong growth in its U.S. shale business.
"Renewed optimism in the domestic economy augurs well for business and consumer confidence particularly against the backdrop of continuing concerns on global economic growth," chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a statement.
Investors will also react to consumer inflation data which was released after market hours yesterday. The country's annual consumer inflation eased for a second consecutive month in September to 6.46 percent, its lowest level in nearly three years on the back of declining food and fuel prices, giving room for the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates in the coming months. The reading was much lower than August's 7.73 percent and the median forecast of 7.1 percent by economists.
The benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty erased early losses to end up about 0.3 percent each on Monday, as IT, banking and metal stocks gained ground, offsetting weakness in the healthcare, realty and capital goods sectors.
Asian Markets
Asian stocks are trading mixed, with Japan's Nikkei index tumbling 1.5 percent to hit a two-month low, as trading resumed after a public holiday. The markets in New Zealand and Singapore are subdued, while stocks elsewhere are gaining ground after recent steep losses.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up more than a percent, led by miners after iron ore prices rose overnight. China's Shanghai Composite index is moving up 0.3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is adding a percent and South Korea's Kospi average is rising 0.4 percent.
The U.S. dollar retreated against other major currencies as a faltering recovery in Europe and lingering concerns about the outlook for the Chinese economy undermined the case for an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
U.S. And European Markets
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session sharply lower on Monday, extending last week's sell-off on worries about faltering growth, particularly in Europe. Amid a light day on the economic front, investors braced for a slew of corporate earnings results and economic reports later this week. The Dow fell 1.4 percent to its lowest levels in six months, the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 shed 1.7 percent.
European stocks rebounded from last week's steep losses, as encouraging Chinese exports and imports data lifted mining shares and investors pinned hopes on the ECB to unveil further measures to bolster the region's sluggish economy. The German DAX rose 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1 percent and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. advanced 0.4 percent.
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