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 India's Nifty 50 is set to open at a fresh record high on Thursday, tracking a rally in Asian peers after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assured likely rate cuts this year and ruled out near-term risk of economic recession.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,643.50 as of 7:54 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open above its Wednesday's close of 22,474.05.

Asian markets were higher. Wall Street equities closed higher, after Fed Chair Powell said in a congressional testimony that rate cuts can be expected in 2024. He also added the central bank was on a "good path" toward achieving a soft landing of the economy and ruled out any short-term risk of recession. [MKTS/GLOB]

India's blue-chip indexes NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex recovered from a sluggish start to hit fresh all-time high levels on Wednesday. The Nifty hit a new record high of 22,497.20 while the Sensex scaled the 74,000 level for the first time.

They are both up about 0.6% for the week so far. If gains hold, it would be the fourth consecutive week of gains for the benchmarks.

The return of foreign buying in Indian equities, sustained domestic inflows, faster-than-expected economic growth and steady corporate earnings growth have aided the rise in domestic equities, according to analysts.

Both foreign and domestic investors were net buyers of Indian stocks on Wednesday. Foreign institutional investors added 27.67 billion rupees (~ $334 million) of shares on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth 21.50 billion rupees.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Vedanta: Company said it is exploring all possible legal options on Supreme Court ruling on copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

** Infosys: Company renewed digital innovation partnership with the ATP Tour until 2026, aimed at driving artificial intelligence innovations in professional tennis.

** Hindustan Aeronautics: Company signed an amendment to LCA IOC contract, the value of the contract revised to 50.78 billion rupees from 27.01 billion rupees.

** Zomato: China's Antfin sold 2.1% stake in the company worth $341.5 million.

($1 = 82.8260 Indian rupees)