BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares are set to open lower on Thursday, on caution after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the possibility of further rate hikes to tackle inflation.
India’s NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore Exchange were down 0.23% at 18,865.50, as of 8:14 a.m. IST.
The benchmark Sensex hit a record high on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 logged a record close while midcap index hit all-time highs.
The rise in domestic equities in 2023 so far has been supported by persistent foreign inflows, strong corporate earnings and cooling inflation, said two analysts.
Foreign investors remained net buyers in Indian equities in the fiscal year 2024, purchasing shares worth 796.78 billion rupees so far.
Foreign institutional investors bought 40.13 billion rupees ($489.7 million) worth of Indian equities on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic investors bought 5.50 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
Wall Street equities declined overnight after Fed Chair Powell said in his congressional testimony that the U.S. central bank may hike rates further to rein in inflation.
The outlook of two more 25 basis point rate hikes are a “pretty good guess” of the central bank’s action if the economy continued in its current direction, Powell said.
The Fed took a pause in its rate hikes earlier this month to assess the impact of its monetary policy on inflation and growth. The odds of a 25 basis point rate hike at the upcoming Fed policy meeting in July stood at 72%. [FEDWATCH]
Asian markets were little changed on caution over prolonged high interest rates in the U.S. [MKTS/GLOB]
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Delhivery: Private equity firm Carlyle is planning to offload 2.53% stake in company through block deals, according to reports.
** NMDC: Life Insurance Corporation of India sells 2.07% stake in company via open market transactions over three months.
** HDFC Asset Management Company: SBI Mutual Fund raises stake in company to 6.8626% from 2.8983%.
** Tata Consultancy Services: Co signs $1.1 billion contract with UK’s Nest.
($1 = 82.0630 Indian Rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
