IGI Logo

 Indian shares are set to track global equities higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Nifty 50 likely to hit record highs after soft U.S. retail sales data reinforced expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in September.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 23,662 as of 08:20 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open at an all-time high after closing at 23,557.90 on Tuesday.

Both the Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex indexes have logged record closing highs for three consecutive sessions.

Wall Street equities closed higher overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at record high levels, after weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data signalled cooling inflation, bolstering hopes of a rate cut in September.

The data led to a small boost in rate cut expectations for September to 61.1% from 56.7%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

A cut could lead to foreign inflows into emerging markets such as India, adding heft to domestic equities, according to analysts.

Asian markets opened higher, buoyed by a rally in U.S. tech stocks, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rising 0.9%. [MKTS/GLOB]

The Nifty and Sensex have gained each 4.5% in June so far. Inflows from retail investors and mutual funds have supported the rise in domestic equities, while foreign flows have turned positive in the last few sessions, according to exchange data.

Both foreign and domestic investors were net buyers on Tuesday, buying stocks worth 25.69 billion rupees (about $308 million) and 15.56 billion rupees, respectively.

Stocks to watch:

** Zee Entertainment: CFO Rohit Gupta has resigned due to personal reasons. Mukund Galgali has been appointed as acting CFO.

** Gland Pharma: Fosun is said to plan block deals to pare 6% stake in the company, according to Bloomberg News.

($1 = 83.3710 Indian rupees)