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India's benchmark stock indexes were poised to open higher on Monday and inch towards record highs, tracking gains in other Asian markets on rising expectations of a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 26,159, as of 07:40 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 could open above Friday's close of 26,068.15.

Both the Nifty and the Sensex logged second straight weekly gains on Friday on an improving earnings outlook and stable flows, trading less than 1% below their record highs touched in September 2024.

Other Asian markets opened higher on Monday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rising 0.8%, after New York Fed President John Williams said the U.S. central bank could still cut interest rates in the near term. [MKTS/GLOB]

The odds of a U.S. rate cut in December have risen to 70% from 44% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Lower U.S. interest rates make emerging markets such as India more attractive for foreign investors.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Indian stocks worth 31.62 billion rupees on Friday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth 17.66 billion rupees, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Strong quarterly earnings, easing inflation and a moderation in foreign selling have underpinned Indian shares, which could jump to record highs in the near term amid rising optimism about India-U.S. trade negotiations, two analysts said.

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