Thursday Morning Briefing: Global Setup

Asian markets are off to a tentative start after U.S. stocks erased early losses on Wednesday. The S&P 500 index closed 0.5 percent higher, near its average price during the past 50 days, a key level watched by technical analysts.

The rush towards safe havens continued. Gold extended its gains to reach its highest price in nearly two years. The Japanese yen also continued to climb. Oil also continued its uptrend. Brent crude prices are now back above the $49 per barrel mark.

Minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on June 14-15, when rates were kept unchanged, showed that policy makers were facing rising uncertainty about the outlook for growth. The meeting was held ahead of the June 23 Brexit referendum in Britain.

Meanwhile the SGX Nifty is trading nearly half a percent higher, indicating a positive start for Indian equities.

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