By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares are set for a muted start on Tuesday, ahead of the domestic GDP data for the December quarter while new economic data from the U.S. added to persisting fears of a prolonged rate hike cycle.
India’s NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.02% at 17,492, as of 7:51 a.m. IST.
Investors await domestic GDP data for the December quarter, due later in the day. The Indian economy likely grew 4.6% year-on-year, according to a Reuters poll of economists, on weak global demand and monetary tightening by the Reserve Bank of India.
This is slower than the 6.3% growth seen in the previous quarter.
All three major indexes on Wall Street advanced on Monday on bargain hunting. Official data showed core capital goods orders accelerated more than expected in January, suggesting that business spending on equipment picked up.
The new data added to fears that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates to a higher level than currently estimated.
Asian markets advanced, with the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.46%. [MKTS/GLOB]
Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded a net 20.23 billion rupees ($244.71 million) worth of equities on Monday, while domestic investors purchased a net 22.32 billion rupees worth of Indian shares.
Indian equities logged their longest losing streak since September on Monday, with the benchmark Nifty falling below the 200-day moving average during the session, for the first time since early October.
STOCKS TO WATCH ** NHPC: Co gets investment approval from the government for implementing the Dibang multipurpose project, costing an estimated 318.8 billion rupees, in Arunachal Pradesh.
** Jyothy Labs: Co approves scheme of amalgamation of unit Jyothy Fabricare Services with itself.
** Mastek: Co announces partnership with Netail to bring AI-led digital transformation to retail and consumer industry.
** Paytm: Co’s share capital base has reduced by 2.4% post share buyback; domestic mutual funds increase their stake from 1.73% to 2.68%.
($1 = 82.6680 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
