BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares will likely open with slight gains on Wednesday, tracking their Asian peers after overnight gains on Wall Street, with the focus on whether Axis Bank’s better-than-expected results can alleviate some of the pressure on financial stocks.
India’s GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,029 points as of 8:21 a.m. IST, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open above its close of 21,238.80 on Tuesday.
Asian shares rose on Wednesday on optimism that Chinese authorities will offer support for its stock markets and as Wall Street shares hit a third straight record high. [MKTS/GLOB]
Meanwhile, domestic financial stocks, especially banks, will be in focus after Axis Bank posted third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and signalled that deposit growth will eventually catch up with loan growth.
Since HDFC Banks’ underwhelming results last Wednesday, the Nifty financials have tumbled a shade over 6%, leading to persistent foreign outflows that weighed on the market. The benchmark Nifty 50 has fallen 3.6% in that period.
Foreign investors have taken out $2.8 billion from Indian equities from last Wednesday to Saturday, data from the National Securities Depository shows. The provisional data for Tuesday’s session, put out by the BSE, shows an outflow of $375 million.
Before this, foreign flows in January were largely positive.
STOCKS To WATCH:
** United Spirits reported a rise in third-quarter profit as demand for its premium brands remained strong
** Havells posted a marginal rise in quarterly profit on strong demand.
** Nifty 50 earnings due within market hours- Indian Oil Corporation, Bajaj Auto
** Bharti Airtel has prepaid 83.25 billion rupees to the Indian government’s telecom department to partly clear deferred liabilities for airwaves it acquired in 2015 auction.
(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
