Indian shares are set to open higher on Wednesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting, at which the central bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates.
The Gift Nifty was trading at 25,134, as of 7:45 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 (.NSEI) will open above its close of 25,013.15 on Tuesday.
The RBI is expected to keep key policy rates unchanged for a tenth consecutive meeting amid inflationary pressures, but the central bank's hawkish 'withdrawal of accommodation' policy stance and comments will be under scrutiny.
Inflation risks in India have been compounded by the recent escalation in the conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed up crude prices, analysts at JP Morgan said in a note.
Any dovish commentary on the economy or rates will aid momentum in domestic equities, especially in rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, auto and banking, analysts said.
India's benchmark indexes Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) snapped a six-session losing streak on Tuesday, as investors bought the dip, while better-than-expected results for the ruling party in a state assembly election also supported sentiment.
Other Asian markets opened higher with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rising 0.7%. Wall Street equities settled higher overnight.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the seventh session in a row on Tuesday, offloading shares worth 557.43 billion rupees ($6.64 billion) over the period. Domestic institutional investors have bought shares worth $7.2 billion over the last seven sessions.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Torrent Power (TOPO.NS) secures two letters of awards from MSEDCL for a total of 2000 MW energy storage capacity.
** Welspun Enterprises (WELS.NS) gets letter of acceptance for a project worth 19.89 billion Indian rupees.
** RPP Infra Projects (RPPI.NS) gets orders worth 3.19 billion rupees.
** Ola Electric (OLAE.NS) has been sent a notice by India's consumer rights agency which received about 10,000 complaints against the company over the last year, according to an official. read more
($1 = 83.9240 Indian rupees)
