Indian Shares Set To Open Higher After Fed Rate Cut

Indian stocks are poised to open higher on Friday, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's widely anticipated decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,297.5, as of 08:04 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above its Thursday's close of 24,199.35.

Other Asian markets also rose, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index gaining 1%. Wall Street equities hit record highs for the second session in a row overnight, while U.S. Treasury yields dipped after the Fed's rate cut.

The Fed said the U.S. economy was "in a very good place" and inflation was easing towards the central bank's target of 2%.

Lower rates in the U.S. make emerging markets such as India more appealing to foreign investors, as they seek higher returns in regions with better growth prospects. With U.S. yields becoming less attractive, capital tends to flow into riskier but potentially more rewarding markets, boosting demand for assets in countries including India.

India's Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have declined by approximately 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, this week, and are down about 8% from their record highs reached on Sept. 27. The pullback has been driven by persistent foreign outflows and weaker-than-expected corporate earnings, which have weighed on investor sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers of Indian stocks for the 29th session in a row on Thursday, offloading stocks worth 48.89 billion rupees (about $580 million).

Stocks to watch

** Drugmaker Lupin beats second-quarter profit view on strong demand for generic drugs.

** State-owned Steel Authority of India posts decline in September quarter profit, dragged by sharp fall in steel prices and tepid demand.

** Cummins India reports a higher second-quarter profit, helped by robust demand for its engines and power generators.

** Realty developer Brigade Enterprise signs a joint development agreement for a residential project in Chennai, with a gross development value of 8 billion rupees.

($1 = 84.3180 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)