Indian shares set to open flat after three sessions of gains
India's stock benchmarks are poised to open flat on Thursday, after three sessions of gains, with optimism over improving earnings outlook tempered by the uncertainty around the impact of artificial intelligence.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 25,858.5 points as of 7:58 a.m. IST, indicating the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Wednesday's close of 25,819.35.
Both Nifty and Sensex have gained about 1.4% in three sessions, with sentiment aided by an in-line December quarter earnings season despite a one-time hit of labour-related charges.
While the Infosys-Anthropic collaboration briefly lifted IT stocks on Tuesday, they fell on Wednesday. Investors remained cautious on the sector as they assessed the potential earnings impact due to AI-linked disruption.
"Sentiment remained measured due to weak global technology cues and broader risk-off behaviour in overseas markets," said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking.
"Market participants are attempting to regain control, but indications still favour an extended consolidation phase," Mishra said.
Other Asian markets rose 0.5% at the open, while Wall Street equities closed higher overnight on strength in tech stocks. Investors also parsed the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.
Gold rebounded as Ukraine peace talks ended without a clear resolution, triggering a shift to safe-haven assets.
Crude prices traded flat after jumping 4% on Wednesday following Iran's temporary closure of parts of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global oil supply route, spurring supply worries.
Higher crude prices are a negative for countries that are net importers of the commodity, such as India. [O/R]
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) remained net buyers of Indian stocks for the second straight session on Wednesday, purchasing stocks worth 11.54 billion rupees. Domestic institutional investors (DII) inflows stood at 4.40 billion rupees, according to NSE's provisional data.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Bharat Forge signs an agreement with VVDN Technologies to collaborate across automotive, defence and data center domains
** BL Kashyap and Sons secures an order worth 3 billion rupees
** Zydus Lifesciences gets U.S. FDA approval for Bosentan tablets, used in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension
** Cochin Shipyard signs a contract worth over 20 billion rupees with France's CMA CGM for manufacture of six feeder container vessels
