Indian shares are likely to open higher on Wednesday, bucking weakness in broader Asian equities ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision and commentary due later in the day.
India’s GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,615 points as of 8:12 a.m. IST, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open above its Tuesday close of 21,522.10.
The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex fell on Tuesday, dragged by financials and profit booking in index heavyweights.
Asian shares fell broadly on Wednesday, dragged by weak economic data from China while Wall Street equities were mixed overnight after strong U.S. labour data added to doubts over early interest rate cuts.
“While is Fed is expected to maintain status quo, the commentary regarding future rate trajectory will hold importance for global markets,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
“We expect domestic equities to remain volatile till the two large events, the U.S. Fed policy and India’s interim budget unfold,” added Khemka.
The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, while the Indian government is due to announce its interim budget on Thursday.
The Nifty volatility index jumped to a 10-month high of 16.10 on Tuesday.
Foreign institutional investors net sold shares worth about 19.71 billion rupees ($237.1 million) on Tuesday, exchange data showed.
Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers, adding shares worth 10.03 billion rupees.