Indian shares flat; all eyes on Fed seminar, G7 meet

21 Aug, 2019

The broader NSE index was trading 0.02% down at 11,014.75 as of 0512 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.06% up at 37,349.80.

Meanwhile, traders in regional markets across Asia awaited cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole seminar later this week and a Group of Seven summit later this weekend for clues on what additional steps policymakers will take to boost economic growth.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  dithered either side of flat after three straight days of gains.

"This week the focus will be on the Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers, Fed chair (Jerome) Powell's speech and the G7 summit in France," said Rajesh Cheruvu, Chief Investment Officer at Validus Wealth.

"There are concerns that authorities may sell more debt to finance further fiscal stimulus."

In the domestic market, the metals index was the top loser, shedding over 1.2%, as China's iron ore prices hit a 10-week low after mining giant BHP Group gave a downbeat outlook for steelmaking raw material prices.

Tata Steel and Vedanta Ltd were among the top losers on the NSE, dropping about 2% each.

Among gainers, Eicher Motors rose 1.3%.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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