BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares are set to open little changed on Tuesday after hitting record highs in the last session as investors parse through quarterly earnings and wait for the national budget proposal due early next week.
The GIFT Nifty was at 24,634.5 points as of 8:32 a.m. IST, indicating that the NSE Nifty 50 will open near its closing level of 24,586.7.
The benchmark Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex logged record closing highs for the second session in a row on Monday, led by gains in state-owned companies.
The Nifty 50 has hit record high levels in seven of the 11 sessions so far in July.
Analysts expect the government to continue with its focus on capex-linked sectors like infrastructure and manufacturing, while also announcing measures to boost consumption while presenting the national budget on July 23.
“We maintain a positive outlook and recommend a “buy on dips” strategy,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.
Meanwhile, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday that recent U.S. data added to confidence on progress in taming inflation, boosted hopes that the U.S. interest rate cut may not be far off.
Traders have now completely ruled out a rate pause in September, with a odds of a 25 basis point cut at about 90%, according to CME FedWatch.
U.S. markets closed higher overnight, helped by Powell’s comments and on rising prospects of Republican Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential race after he survived an assassination attempt. Asian markets inched lower. [MKTS/GLOB]
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Hindustan Unilever: Company approves sale and divetment of its water purification business to A.O. Smith India Water Products for $72 million.
** Lupin: Company divests U.S. commercial women’s health speciality business to Evofem for $84 million.
** Century Textiles & Industries: Company’s arm, Birla Estates, buys 5-acre land parcel in Gurugram, with estimated revenue potential of 14 billion rupees (about $167 million).
** Angel One: Brokerage posts higher first-quarter profit, helped by rise in orders amid increased trading activity.
($1 = 83.5930 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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