(Reuters) – Indian shares are set to open flat on Thursday, after logging gains in the previous session on Republican Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential race, while investors await Federal Reserve’s rate decision to gauge the interest rate trajectory.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,466, as of 07:58 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Wednesday’s close of 24,484.05.
Both the Nifty and BSE Sensex rose 1.1% on Wednesday, their biggest single-day jump in more than six weeks, after Trump was elected the U.S. president, which analysts termed as positive for domestic equities.
Other Asian markets advanced on the day, while all three major Wall Street stock indexes hit record highs overnight, as markets celebrated in part the clarity of U.S. election outcome.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high while the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields jumped. [MKTS/GLOB]
While the election results could trigger a markets rally for a few sessions, analysts said a clear directionality for domestic equities will depend on the policy framework of the next U.S. government and commentary from the Federal Reserve on Thursday.
The U.S. Fed opted for an outsized 50 basis-point rate cut in its previous meeting, but is expected to cut rates by 25bps on Thursday.
“The recent macroeconomic data and earnings suggest that the U.S. economy is set for a soft landing, and hence, the Fed is likely to deliver a 25bps rate cut,” said Ankita Pathak, chief macro and global Strategist at Angel One Wealth.
More than the reduction, investors would pay close attention to the commentary from the U.S. central bank for clues on the rate outlook, two analysts said.
Foreign institutional investors sold domestic equities for the 28th consecutive session on Wednesday, offloading stocks worth 44.46 billion rupees ($528 million) on a net basis.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Apollo Hospitals beats second-quarter profit view on strong healthcare services demand.
** Tata Steel beats September-quarter profit estimates on higher sales volumes.
** Power Grid Corp of India posts flat second-quarter profit on tepid demand.
** Jindal Steel and Power reports drop in September-quarter profit on subdued demand and lower prices.
($1 = 84.2760 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
