India shares set to open higher as markets extend cautious recovery
India's stock benchmarks are set to open slightly higher on Wednesday, continuing a cautious recovery after last week's Iran war-driven slump and tracking gains across Asia, as oil prices paused but stayed above $100 a barrel.
GIFT Nifty futures were trading at 23,655.5 as of 08:25 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 will open a tad above Tuesday's close of 23,581.15.
The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have climbed about 2% so far this week, clawing back some of the steep losses from their worst week in years, when both indexes confirmed a technical correction.
The bounce points to bargain buying after last week's rout, but analysts expect markets to remain rangebound until there is greater clarity on the Middle East conflict and its implications for oil prices, inflation and corporate earnings.
"The near-term outlook suggests a range-bound market with a cautious bias, where global cues, crude oil movements and currency trends will remain the key drivers," said Hariprasad K, analyst and founder at Livelong Wealth.
Investors are also awaiting commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to hold rates when it announces its decision later in the day, as oil-driven inflation concerns push rate cuts bets further out this year.
Meanwhile, momentum indicators suggest that the market is finding a floor, with the relative strength index - a gauge of recent buying and selling pressure - recovering from oversold levels.
Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries will be in focus after a Bloomberg News report said the company may file a draft red herring prospectus for Jio Platforms' IPO as early as this month. The third heaviest stock on the benchmarks remains pivotal for market direction.
Motilal Oswal last week valued Jio Platforms at 981 rupees, or 652 rupees after minority interest, and maintained a 1,750-rupee price target for Reliance.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions reports profit of 276.5 million rupees for the quarter ended December 31, compared with year-ago 24.6 million rupees, while its revenue rises 13%
** Ceigall India says its subsidiary has emerged as the lowest bidder for two tenders worth 1.08 billion rupees and 990 million rupees
** Tata Steel approves the amalgamation of Neelachal Ispat with itself, and announces up to $2 billion in investment through subscription to equity shares of its foreign subsidiary, T Steel Holdings
($1 = 92.3800 Indian rupees)
