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India's equity benchmarks are likely to open muted on Thursday, extending the cautious sentiment seen this week, as U.S. tariff worries and foreign fund outflows offset optimism over earnings growth.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 26,188.5 points as of 7:46 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 would open near Wednesday's close of 26,140.75.

The 50-stock index slid 0.7% in the last three sessions and the BSE Sensex lost 0.9%, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of higher tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil purchases, even as New Delhi seeks a trade deal with Washington.

The U.S. has already imposed up to 50% tariffs on Indian goods, with half of those penalties tied to New Delhi's Russian crude imports.

Meanwhile, foreign investors sold Indian shares worth 15.28 billion rupees ($169.95 million) on Wednesday, per provisional data. They have offloaded $694 million worth of shares so far in January after record outflows in 2025.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Tata Steel posts its highest-ever quarterly crude steel production in India in the third quarter, helped by increased output at its Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar facilities

** Cipla says its supply partner Pharmathen received nine observations from U.S. drug regulator following an inspection at its facility in Greece

** Angel One says its board will meet on January 15 to consider a stock split

($1 = 89.9070 Indian rupees)