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Indian shares were set to open lower on Thursday, as rising recession fears in the United States dragged sentiment, while analysts expected high volatility ahead of the April series derivatives expiry.

India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.16% at 17,801 as of 7:59 a.m. IST.

Global equities were subdued after economic data fuelled concerns of a potential recession in the near term in the world's biggest economy. Asian markets were mostly lower. [MKTS/GLOB]

The Nifty 50 has gained in all three sessions this week, adding over 1%, amid a slew of corporate earnings, shrugging off the weakness in global equities.

"Markets may go sideways after the sharp rise," said Om Mehra, equity research analyst at Choice Broking. "The (Nifty 50) index is likely to witness consolidation, traders may find buying opportunities if the 17,700 level is protected."

Analysts cautioned investors to brace themselves for volatility and turbulence ahead of the expiry of April series derivatives on Thursday and the U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision on May 3.

Boosting optimism amid weak global cues is the return of foreign institutional buying on Wednesday. Foreign institutional investors snapped a seven-day selling streak, the longest in a month and added equities worth 12.57 billion rupees ($153.83 million).

Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Wipro Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, ACC Ltd, Bajaj Finserv Ltd, Coforge Ltd, Mphasis Ltd are among the major companies reporting their quarterly results on Thursday.

Stocks to Watch:

** Bajaj Finance Ltd: Co beats Q4 profit expectations on strong loan demand.

** L&T Technology Services Ltd: Co sees 20% FY2024 revenue growth, reports larger-than-expected rise in net profit in March quarter.

** HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd: Co posts smaller-than-expected rise in Q4 profit, on higher expenses. []

** SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd: Co logs larger-than-expected rise in profit in Q4, helped by higher income from premiums.

($1 = 81.7130 Indian rupees)