BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares are set to open marginally higher on Wednesday after China’s consumer prices logged a smaller-than-expected fall in July, ahead of U.S. inflation data and Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy decision due this week.
India’s GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was up 0.21% at 19,602 at 8:30 a.m. IST.
Asian equities edged higher, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan rising 0.43%, after data showed China’s consumer prices fell 0.3% year-on-year in July, a slightly slower decline than the median estimate of a 0.4% fall.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose to 0.2% in July versus -0.1% estimates, while worries persist over deflation in China amid faltering economic growth.
Wall Street equities closed lower overnight on fears over the health of U.S. banks and the economy after Moody’s cut credit ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks. [MKTS/GLOB]
Investors also await U.S. inflation data and the RBI’s policy decision due on Thursday.
While the RBI is largely expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged, market participants will keep a close eye on the central bank’s commentary.
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex fell on Tuesday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in Indian equities for the eighth straight session on Tuesday, offloading shares worth 7.11 billion rupees ($85.84 million).
In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought 5.37 billion rupees of shares on Tuesday, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
STOCKS TO WATCH:
** Coal India: Co posts fall in June quarter profit on higher wage provisions.
** Oil India: Co’s June quarter profit rises marginally as lower costs outweigh revenue drop.
** Lupin: Co’s subsidiary in New Jersey, Novel Laboratories, gets U.S. FDA approval for drug to treat eczema, a skin condition.
** Inox Wind: Inox Wind Energy sold 14.65 million shares of Inox Wind to several institutional investors at an average price of 208 rupees per share, via block deals.
($1 = 82.8270 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
