Indian shares set for muted start as recession fears dent sentiment
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Indian shares were set to open flat on Thursday, as concerns of "mild recession" in the U.S. tempered optimism from favourable economic data, while investors also waited for March quarter results to judge corporate health.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.09% at 17,863.50 as of 8:22 a.m. IST.
Worries of a possible downturn gripped global equities after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed the central bank projected a "mild recession" later this year as a potential fallout of the stress in the banking sector.
Wall Street equities closed lower on Wednesday, reversing intraday gains following cooler-than-expected inflation data for March. Asian equities remain subdued. [MKTS/GLOB]
India's retail inflation for March eased to 5.66%, below the Reserve Bank of India's tolerance band, on softening food prices. RBI had surprised markets by maintaining key repo rate unchanged, last week.
Offsetting the optimism was rising concerns of a possible impact of growth slowdown in the U.S. India's IT firms earn a significant share of their revenue from clients in the U.S. and Europe.
India's top IT exporter Tata Consultancy Services flagged concerns of deferred spending and near-term uncertainty in its banking, financial services and insurance segment.
TCS reported nearly 15% YoY growth in net profit in March quarter, topping estimates. Infosys will report its Q4 earnings on Thursday.
Foreign institutional investors extended their buying streak to nine sessions, adding 19.08 billion Indian Rupees worth of equities on Wednesday.
The Nifty 50 is on course to rise for the third week in a row, adding 1.21% so far. Indian markets will be closed on Friday for a local holiday.
Stocks to Watch:
** Infosys: Co to report Q4 earnings on Thursday.
** HDFC Bank: Lender signs agreement with Export Import Bank of Korea for $300 million credit line.
** Rail Vikas Nigam: Co receives letter of award, for an order worth 630.8 million Rupees from North Western Railway.
** B L Kashyap: Co secures new orders worth up to 1.41 billion Rupees.
($1 = 82.0400 Indian rupees)
