BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares were set to open lower on Thursday amid choppy trading across global equities, after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates on Wednesday, but hinted at an end to its rate-hike cycle.
India’s NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.35% at 18,097, as of 8:03 a.m. IST.
Wall Street equities closed lower overnight after the Fed raised rates by quarter of a percentage point. However, Fed chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank is closer to the end of the current rate hiking cycle that began in March 2022.
Analysts said that pausing further rate hikes provided time for the Fed to assess the ripple effects from recent bank failures and inflation trajectory. Asian markets were muted. [MKTS/GLOB]
Indian equities snapped their recent winning streak on Wednesday, ahead of the Fed rate decision. “The rally has been continuous, fatigue was bound to happen and the trigger was the Fed meeting,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures hovered around $73 per barrel, on global demand concerns, U.S. debt default negotiations and the Fed rate hike. Both Brent and WTI crude have lost 10% since the start of the week.
The fall in oil prices is a positive for importers of the commodity like India, where crude constitutes a significant share of the country’s import bill. [O/R]
Despite the slide in domestic equities on Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers for fifth session in a row, adding equities worth 13.38 billion rupees ($163.8 million).
Investors await another busy earnings day with Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Tata Power Company Ltd, Dabur India Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd reporting quarterly results on Thursday.
Stocks to Watch:
** Titan Co Ltd: Co reports 50% jump in Q4 profit.
** ABB India Ltd: Co’s pre-tax profit in the March quarter surges 66% on strong order wins.
** Petronet LNG Ltd: Co reports fall in March quarter profit.
** Tata Chemicals Ltd: Co posts 62% rise in Q4 profit on strong demand.
($1 = 81.6740 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K; Editing by Varun H K)
