Asian stocks joined the global rally triggered by the speculation that the European Central Bank will extend its bond-buying programme on Thursday. The dollar gained while oil hovered around the $51 per barrel mark.
Oil Prices Slip From 16-Month High
Oil dipped from its highest level since August 2015 after a Bloomberg News survey indicated that OPEC boosted production in November by a record 34.16 million barrels per day, up from a revised 33.96 million barrels per day in October.
The survey comes ahead of the meeting between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and producers from outside the group on Saturday to discuss output cuts for non-OPEC members.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude supplies fell 2.21 million barrels last week, while stockpiles at Cushing and Oklahoma, rose by 4.01 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute.
Factory Orders Rise
Factory orders in the U.S. rose for the fourth straight month in October, according to a Commerce Department report on Tuesday. Orders rose 2.7 percent in October, the highest since January 2015. New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 4.6 percent in October, compared to a 0.3 percent rise in September.
The strong economic data boosts the expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in the December 13-14 meeting, the odds of which have remained at 100 percent, according to futures rates tracked by Bloomberg.
U.S. equity markets rallied, buoyed by gains in financial stocks. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to close at record highs, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to close near its record closing level posted on November 25.
Steady Start?
The SGX Nifty Index gained 0.14 percent to 8,184 as of 7:05 a.m, indicating a steady start for Indian equities. Investors will be awaiting cues from the monetary policy committee's bi-monthly policy data later in the day. 26 out of 33 economists polled by Bloomberg expect the repo rate to be lowered by 25 basis points to 6 percent.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
