Markets are set to open higher today, ahead of the interim Union budget leading up to national elections later this year, while global equities were subdued after the US Federal Reserve commentary added to doubts over early rate cuts.
The GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,829.50 points as of 7:45 am, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open above its Tuesday's close of 21,725.70.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to avoid spending big on new welfare programmes in the budget before the general election and instead focus on infrastructure, while narrowing the budget gap.
While major policy changes and announcements are unlikely, the expansion in the government's capital expenditure and the extent of fiscal consolidation would be scrutinised closely, ICRA said in a note.
Meanwhile, Asian markets were subdued after the US Fed kept rates unchanged but signalled that rate cuts would not be appropriate until inflation cools off further.
Shares of fintech firm Paytm are in focus after the Indian central bank restricted Paytm Payments Bank from fresh deposits and credit transactions across its services, due to supervisory concerns.
Foreign institutional investors bought Indian shares worth 16.61 billion rupees ($199.95 million) on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased a net 25.43 billion rupees of stocks.
FIIs offloaded 257.44 billion rupees of shares in January, after making record monthly purchases in December, as Nifty and S&P BSE Sensex snapped a two-month winning streak.
Stocks to watch:
- Auto Stocks like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto: Companies to report monthly sales data for January.
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: Company announced partnership with Pfizer to launch a drug to treat dermatitis. The drug has been approved by regulators in India, U.S. and European Union.
- Shree Cement: Company topped December-quarter profit view on lower fuel costs and higher volumes.
- Godrej Consumer Products: Company posted slowest revenue growth in over three years on soft demand.
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