Indian shares to rise after soft US inflation data sparks global rally

BENGALURU: Indian shares are set to open higher on Wednesday, tracking a jump in world stocks after softer-than-expected US inflation data fuelled hopes of an end to the rate-hiking cycle in the world’s largest economy.

India’s GIFT Nifty was up 0.89% at 19,731.50 as of 7:59 a.m. IST on Wednesday, about 300 points above the benchmark Nifty 50’s Monday close of 19,443.55.

Wall Street equities climbed higher overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite index gaining 2.4%, its best day in over six months.

The rise came after data showed US consumer price inflation (CPI) remained unchanged in October, the first such in more than a year, after a 0.4% rise in September.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast CPI to rise 0.1%.

The data spurred hopes of an end to the interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, sparking a rally in stock markets and pushing US Treasury yields lower.

Asian markets opened higher on Wednesday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index gaining 2%.

IT, financials lead slide in Indian shares; inflation data eyed

Meanwhile, data showed India’s annual retail inflation eased to a four-month low of 4.87% in October, below the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance band of 6% for a second consecutive month.

Wall Street brokerage Goldman Sachs raised Indian shares to “overweight” from “marketweight” on Monday, citing strong economic fundamentals, earnings momentum and persistent domestic mutual fund inflows as key reasons for the upgrade.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to offload Indian equities in November.

FIIs sold shares worth 12.44 billion Indian rupees ($149.89 million) on Monday, extending their selling streak to the 15th session.

Domestic institutional investors extended their buying streak for the 19th session in a row, adding a net 8.30 billion rupees worth of shares.