Oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, boosted by a huge drop in U.S. fuel inventories
The domestic stock markets have opened in the red, snapping a three-day winning run, on the back of weak global cues. At 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex was at 50,757.75, lower by 701.92 points or 1.37 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 15,047.50, down 191.30 points or 0.25 per cent. The broader markets, are however, outperforming their largecap peers, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices shedding 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.
The Nasdaq ended sharply lower on Wednesday after investors sold high-flying technology shares and pivoted to sectors viewed as more likely to benefit from an economic recovery on the back of fiscal stimulus and vaccination programs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39 per cent to end at 31,270.09 points, while the S&P 500 lost 1.31 per cent to 3,819.72 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.7 per cent to 12,997.75.
The Japanese yen hit a seven-month low on the dollar on Thursday as hopes that vaccine distribution and more government stimulus will drive the U.S. economy into a solid rebound lifted the greenback and benchmark Treasury yields.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, boosted by a huge drop in U.S. fuel inventories and expectations that OPEC+ producers might decide against increasing output when they meet this week.
Brent crude rose $1.37, or 2.2 per cent, to settle at $64.07 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.53, or 2.6 per cent, to settle at $61.28 a barrel.
On Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed above 51,000 mark, rising 1,147.76 points, or 2.28 per cent, to 51,444.65 and the Nifty rallied 326.50 points, or 2.19 per cent, to 15,245.60.