(RTTNews) - Indian stock markets remain closed today on account of Eid al-Fitr.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose around half a percent each on Wednesday while the rupee gained 12 paise to close at 83.19 against the dollar.
Asian markets followed Wall Street lower this morning, though Chinese stocks eked out marginal gains as subdued inflation figures for March increased calls for a policy shift.
China's consumer price index grew by 0.1 percent year on year in March, while factory-gate prices fell for the 18th straight month - fueling calls from economists and government advisors to realign monetary easing tools.
The dollar firmed up, hitting a 34-year high against the yen as hotter-than-inflation data curbed Fed pivot bets.
Gold was slightly higher, and oil held overnight gains on heightened geopolitical tensions after reports that a major Iranian attack on Israel is imminent.
U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight while bond yields surged, as signs of sticky inflation and the release of minutes of the Fed's March meeting highlighting upside risks around inflation forecasts dented hopes for a June rate cut.
The Dow fell 1.1 percent to reach its lowest closing level in almost two months while the S&P 500 shed 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.8 percent.
U.S. consumer inflation rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in March, while the annual inflation came in at 3.5 percent. Both exceeded forecasts for a score of 0.3 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
Core inflation too remained hot, rising 3.8 percent on an annual basis, versus 3.7 percent expected.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note spiked above 4.50 percent for the first time since mid-November as the latest Fed meeting minutes revealed concern among officials over stalling inflation progress.
European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, giving up some early gains on concerns over surging U.S. inflation and ahead of the ECB rate decision.
The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent while France's CAC 40 finished marginally lower.
