BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares are set to open lower on Tuesday after pulling back from all-time high levels over the last two sessions, as profit taking emerged ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
India’s GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was down 0.10% at 19,718.50 as of 8:05 a.m. IST.
Wall Street equities closed higher overnight, ahead of key results of major U.S. companies including Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Microsoft, as well as policy decisions by the Fed and European Central Bank.
Markets have fully priced 25 basis points rate hikes by the two central banks. The commentary from Fed will be crucial for cues into its future rate hiking path, according to analysts.
Asian equities edged higher on Monday, aided by China’s pledge to step up policy support for economy to assist the post-COVID recovery. [MKTS/GLOB]
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex extended losses for second session in a row on Monday.
“There is no pessimism in markets as such, but just a normal correction which was pending for some time,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of research (retail) at Kotak Securities.
Analysts advised investors to accumulate quality stocks on dips and expected selling pressure at higher levels to continue ahead of the Fed decision.
Foreign institutional investors also remained net sellers for second session in a row on Monday, offloading 829.6 million rupees ($10.1 million) of Indian equities on a net basis, while domestic investors bought 9.35 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
** Tata Steel: Co reports slide in first-quarter profit on rising costs.
** TVS Motor: Co posts larger-than-expected rise in profit in June quarter, aided by two-wheeler demand.
** JK Paper: Co reports rise in June quarter profit on robust demand.
** Key earnings today: Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints.
($1 = 81.8080 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
