BENGALURU: Indian shares are set to open higher on Friday, tracking a rise in global stocks after the US Federal Reserve signalled that further rate hikes were unlikely, while Bajaj Finance will be in focus after the local central bank lifted restrictions on its lending products.
India’s GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,891 as of 07:50 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open above its Thursday’s close of 22,648.2.
The blue-chip indexes closed higher in the previous session, as the market digested a less-hawkish Fed stance and easing oil prices.
Both have gained about 1% this week so far. Easing tensions in the Middle East, positive domestic earnings prints have fuelled optimism and buying interest among traders, said Vishnu Kant Upadhyay, assistant vice president of research at Advisory at Master Capital Services.
Shares of Bajaj Finance will be in focus after the non-bank lender said the Reserve Bank of India lifted restrictions on its lending products, allowing it to “resume sanction and disbursal of loans” in the banned segments.
Shares of Bajaj Finance have dropped nearly 5% since the ban was ordered in November. Asian markets opened higher, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rising 1.1%.
Wall Street equities rose overnight after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that further interest rate increases remained unlikely.
However, higher-for-longer interest rates in the US could trigger foreign outflows in India, according to analysts.
Foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares on Thursday, offloading stocks worth 9.64 billion rupees ($115.7 million).
Indian shares log gains on less-hawkish Fed, easing oil prices
However, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth 13.52 billion rupees on a net basis, cushioning the foreign outflows.
The US jobs data, due later in the day, is also on investors’ radar for cues on Fed’s interest rate trajectory.
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