Indian shares to open lower on weak earnings, Fed rate hike worries
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Indian shares were set to open lower on Monday on weakness in sentiment due to lacklustre fourth-quarter earnings from the top two IT firms and rising odds of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in May.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.48% at 17,785 as of 8:08 a.m. IST.
Infosys forecast its revenue growth hitting a six-year low in fiscal 2024 on clients clamping down or deferring spending due to recession worries in the U.S. and Europe.
The company reported its net profit, which missed analysts' estimates, post market hours on Thursday.
India's top IT firm by market capitalisation, Tata Consultancy Services, flagged uncertainty in the banking, financial, services and insurance (BFSI) segment in the near term in North American markets on Wednesday.
The company posted disappointing quarterly results, with the IT index falling over 2% on Thursday.
Among major earnings reported so far, HDFC Bank has been an outlier, logging a nearly 20% year-on-year rise in net profit in the March quarter, aided by healthy net interest income and robust loan growth.
Global equities remained subdued on rising odds of a 25-basis point Fed rate hike in May after data showed resilience in core U.S. retail sales.[MKTS/GLOB]
Brent crude hovered above $86 per barrel on hopes of demand recovery in China, ahead of key macro data on Tuesday. Oil has sustained above the $80 per barrel level since the surprise production cut announcement by OPEC+ earlier this month.
A rise in crude prices is a negative for oil-importing countries like India, where the commodity constitutes a significant share of the import bill. [O/R]
Foreign institutional investors extended their buying streak to ten sessions, adding 2.22 billion Indian Rupees ($27.12 million) worth of equities on Thursday.
Sustained FII buying has supported domestic equities, with the benchmark Nifty 50 logging its third consecutive gain on Thursday.
Stocks to Watch:
** Zee Entertainment: Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund to sell 5.65% stake in co via block deals, according to a report.
** Tata Motors: Co to hike passenger vehicle prices for the second hike in 2023.
** Zydus Lifesciences: Co gets final nod from U.S. FDA for drug to treat patients in shock due to reduced cardiac output.
** Max Healthcare: Co completes acquisition of additional 34% stake in Eqova Healthcare.
($1 = 81.8620 Indian rupees)
